Cursed - (Rewrite)
by MyChemicalKilljoy
Summary: When Bree runs away to a small town in the mountains, the last thing she expected was to meet a superhero who has to live with a curse of his own. But the Cult will do whatever it takes to get her back, and Mysterion will do whatever it takes to stop them. Kenny/OC; Mysterion/OC
1. Prologue

**_HELLO! And welcome to Cursed 2.0: New and Improved! If you followed the previous story, welcome back! As I said before, the plot is sort of the same, it's just a lot more detailed, thought out and written properly. Some things you'll recognise, but it's practically a brand new story that I hope you'll love just as much. I'll be posting the first few chapters back to back just so you can get a feel for it and stuff. After that, it's back to regular updates.  
_**_**To the ones just finding this now, then hi, and I'm glad you're only finding me now.  
But to all of you.. enjoy!**_

* * *

Jim McElroy held the child close to his chest and ran a hand gently over the soft blonde curls that dusted her head, 'What's her name?'

'Bree. Her name is Bree.' Sophie Henderson beamed, positively glowing with delight. To see her leader handle her baby with such love and care was all it took to bring proud tears to her eyes. For months she had prayed for this day to come. Now it was here, and it was everything she could've ever hoped for and more.

'Bree.' Jim said in appreciation and appraised the woman with dark eyes, 'And you're sure you are willing to let her pass through the hands of our Lord?'

'Positive.' Sophie's husband, Dan, nodded fiercely next to her.

'Very well. We know exactly the blessing she shall receive. It will be of great use to us in years to come. Thank you.' Jim nodded at both of the Hendersons in turn.

'Anything for our Lord.' The pair chorused in unison. Simultaneously, they clenched their hands over their hearts and bowed their heads in respect, a move so practised that it was almost second nature when it came to talk of their God.

The very day that Sophie had discovered she was pregnant, they had driven straight to the home of their leader to offer their baby to be blessed by the Dark Lord. It had taken Jim seven of the nine months to decide, promising both parents that their little girl would be given nothing short of the world if the Lord accepted her for his own. Three months after her birth, the time was finally right for Bree to become an honorary Child of Cthulhu.

'He will be ever so proud of you.' Jim acknowledged their display with an affectionate smile. After what had happened with the McCormick boy, he was sure Sophie and Dan would've been scared off of having their child blessed in the same manner. So he had been pleasantly surprised when they jumped at the chance instead of running from it. Then again, it had only been a slight mishap with the boy... A slight mishap that would cost them all dearly when he was old enough to understand exactly what it was they had done to him. But Jim hadn't told the rest of his coven that part. No, he would keep them comfortable and safe until the time was upon them to fight back. Then he would drop the bomb shell that they had created a monster who couldn't be killed.

'I must ask,' Sophie snapped Jim from his worrying train of thought and brushed a stray tear from her cheek, 'What will she be able to achieve?'

Jim looked back down at the child and brushed a thumb over her tiny forehead. Her eyelids fluttered open at his touch to reveal a pair of mossy green eyes. She stared up at him in an innocent wonder and he didn't realise he was smiling until his lips were tugged up into a full blown grin, 'Perfect...' He whispered to himself. Clearing his throat, he raised his voice for the Hendersons to hear, 'I believe that it is referred to as the Kiss of Death. She is an angel sent by the Dark Lord himself, Sophie. She will give you plenty to be proud of.'

'Oh, thank you!' Sophie placed a hand to the hollow of her throat as more tears of pure joy dripped from her eyes. She stepped closer so to plant her lips against her child's face before stepping back and twining her fingers into Dan's. With one final nod of thanks, the pair exited the decorated basement and left their baby in the hands of their trusted leader.

Bree Anabelle Henderson. Their beautiful little Angel of Death.


	2. Monster

**_... Also, I'll be starting chapters with relatively fitting song lyrics from now on. I do it on another one of my stories, and it's been working out pretty good, so uh, yeah. Enjoy! x_  
**

* * *

_Never taken one, but I'm taking my last chance,_  
_To hold all we know and let go with both hands._

_- Believe (Hollywood Undead)_

* * *

'See you tomorrow, Bree! Ooh, and don't forget those shoes!'

'I won't. Catch you later, Mel.' I tugged my scarf tighter round my neck as I left the warmth of my "best friend" Melanie's house. It was cold this time of year in Denver, and as beautiful as it was to watch the tree leaves change colour and drift to the ground like giant golden snowflakes, I hated having to wrap up every time I left the house. It was something you got used to if you lived in Colorado, but that didn't mean we had to like it.

'Ciao!' Melanie trilled one final farewell before I heard her close the door. I shook my head at how ridiculously bubbly she was and braced myself against the nip of the wind as I turned in the direction of home.

I didn't particularly enjoy spending time with Mel. She had an exuberant personality and a complete lack of sensitivity: two perfect ingredients for your typical high school bitch. Yet somehow, she insisted on keeping me around, even after my third date nose-dived down the most unexpectedly morbid route imaginable. Rumours flew and word spread about Bree Henderson, the local jinx. Melanie was the only one who still bothered to talk to me, and I was starting to think it was just for the comedic value. That way, she'd always have fresh gossip for her _normal_ friends.

_At least I won't have to put up with it again. _I thought. I shivered at the thought of finally getting away from them all.

I only stayed a few blocks away, and I took my time walking home. Hanging out with Melanie was a struggle, but it was nothing compared to having to smile and laugh with my parents like I didn't hate their very existence. It was their fault that I felt sick every time I looked in the mirror. It was their fault that three innocent, healthy teenage boys had died in the past four years. Everything that had ever gone wrong in my life so far was on their shoulders, and they couldn't care less.

My lip curled up in disgust as I rounded the corner onto my street and I adjusted my scarf to cover my mouth. _One more night_. If I could make it through one more night, then I would be away from them. I'd been holding this charade for the past sixteen years. I could sure as hell last a few more hours.

'Bree, is that you?' Mom's voice floated down the hall from the kitchen when I stepped in the door, slamming it behind me quickly to keep the frosty air out.

'Yeah,' I pulled my scarf off and hung it on the rack, 'What's up?'

'Jim stopped by when you were out. He bought you a present.'

A shudder tripped down my spine at the mere mention of Jim McElroy. He headed the cult my parents were in, and there were no words to describe my dislike for him. His hair was a dank black and the way it parted down the middle showed off how greasy it always was, but I suppose it was fitting for someone so creepy and... _slimy_. The way he spoke to me made my skin crawl, but my parents thought it was endearing. Hell, the bastard could shoot me in the face and they would still sing his praises.

'Are you gonna come open it?' Mom asked. I rolled my eyes and kicked off my snow boots at the same time I shrugged out of my jacket.

'My birthday's tomorrow. Can't I wait 'til then?' I padded through to the kitchen and plunked myself down at the table. There was a box in the middle of it, wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with a delicate black ribbon.

'No. It's _for_ tomorrow.' She turned away from where she was stirring a pot of delicious smelling soup to take a seat opposite me. I raised an eyebrow curiously before pulling the box towards me. I flipped the tag round in my fingers and wanted to heave when I finally deciphered the fancy, over-the-top handwriting.

_Sweetest Bree,_  
_We require you to wear this for the ceremony tomorrow evening. _  
_I hope you've been preparing!  
Cthulhu fhtagn, child._  
_Love, Jim x_

I ripped the paper off in scraps and pieces and let them flutter to the tiled floor, much to Mom's disdain. At this exact moment in time, I didn't care how much she scoffed at me. I just needed to see what was in the damn box. My fingers trembled when I lifted the lid, but once I peeked inside, I let myself breathe a sigh of relief. It was only a dress. A very pretty dress, at that. I pulled it out and stood up to hold it against my small frame.

'Oh, Bree, it's beautiful!' Mom clapped her hands to her mouth. I stared up at her in alarm when her voice cracked, sure that she was going to burst into tears.

'Calm down, it's not the first time I've worn a dress.' I folded it messily and shoved it back into the box. If that was the reaction I got just by taking it out, I definitely wasn't away to try it on for her to see it properly.

'Not for something like this.' She sighed in a way that could only be described as loving at the thought of the "ceremony."

'This is so retarded.' I muttered under my breath. I was going to be 17 tomorrow, and my present from my parents was my involvement in a ritual their cult was doing. They hadn't given me any details. The only thing they'd told me was that it was to stop the Immortal.

The Immortal. The Abomination. The Traitor. They had a hundred and one names for him. It was a story they hadn't bothered to sugar coat for me. He was apparently a Child of Cthulhu, like me, but he had been taken away from the cult before he was even a year old. The cult blamed his parents for that, saying that if they had stayed, he would have been raised right; he wouldn't have gone rogue. He wouldn't be trying to wipe us all out. It made me sick when my parents would boast about how I turned out exactly the way they wanted; that I was the success. If only they knew what I had been planning behind their backs for the past four months.

'Put that in a safe place, okay?' Mom took her bottom lip between her teeth in an anxious gesture when I lifted the box into my arms.

'Yeah, yeah.' I let my face drop sullenly when I turned my back to her. I was half way up the stairs when I heard her shouting that dinner would be ready in an hour.

Once in my room, I closed the door, but left it open a tiny crack so I could hear her if she came up to speak to me. If I wanted to be ready for tomorrow, I had to start packing now, just to give me time to double check everything tonight. I didn't plan on sticking around for the ritual. I would rather drink a pint of bleach before stepping one foot inside that awful basement where the cult meetings were held. I'd only been there about six times before and that was because it had been "absolutely mandatory." For as long as I lived, I would never find myself in a more horrible place.

No, I wasn't staying another day in Denver. I was heading to a small town in the mountains called South Park. It was about an hour from here, and that's where my Aunt Holly and Uncle Phil stayed. I had never met them before since they fell out with my parents after I was born. Mom had called her sister with the "good news of my blessing" and that's when Holly had severed all ties, not wanting to be associated with them or their twisted religion any longer. When I found out about the ritual I was required to partake in, that was when I decided it was time to take action and get out. They were the ones I had turned to, practically begging them to take me in. They agreed instantly, willing to do everything they could to help me get away from the life I was living here.

I only managed to pack a few things before the front door slammed and Dad announced loudly that he was home. I shoved the duffel bag I had been stuffing clothes into back under my bed and jumped to my feet. I had to act like nothing was off, and that meant going downstairs and talking to him about how his day went until Mom served dinner. My parents were big on routine, and if I broke it even by a minute, they would get suspicious and start asking questions that I really couldn't answer today.

While we were eating, they brought up the conversation of the ritual. They insisted on calling it a ceremony, hell bent on sweet talking it to keep me from worrying. It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before, and the hardest part was nodding and telling them that I was excited for it.

'Anything I can do to help, right?' I'd even managed to say it with a smile, even though the words left a stinging, sour taste in my mouth. I deserved a fucking Oscar for how well I pulled off the perfect daughter act. I carried it on once the dishes were washed and dried, feigning tiredness to get away from them earlier than usual. Scared that I would be too exhausted for their stupid meeting, they'd ushered me towards my room, ordering me to get as much sleep as I possibly could.

I lay on my back for about three more hours before I heard them go to bed. I'd used that time to think through my plan again, over and over until there was no possible way I could mess it up. Get up, act like nothing was wrong, say I was going to Melanie's for a few hours, catch the bus and then I was home free. I had drawn up a mental check list of things I still had to do, like leave a note and get rid of my phone. I didn't want them to track it because I didn't _want_ them to find me.

By the time the essentials were packed and my note was written, it was coming on half past 1 in the morning. Knowing that my parents slept soundly, I was able to unlock the front door and conceal my bag in the shrubbery by the steps up to our house, making it easy for me to pick up on my way out tomorrow.

I tossed and turned for a couple more hours when I got back into bed, too fuelled with adrenaline to even think about sleep. I had never ever stepped out of line. Not even once. I'd always been polite and smiled and nodded in all the right places, but the truth of how I felt was now too heavy in my chest and it had gotten to the stage where I just knew I wouldn't be able to last another year without breaking. Running to South Park was the best possible thing I could do, even if it was going to take everything I had in me to do it.

Dad woke me at eight the next morning. My stomach tangled itself into an anxious ball of tight knots when I sat up and went for a shower. _Today was the day_. I felt weightless as I descended the stairs and conversed with my parents. It was like I was just drifting through the hours until my bus left. But as unattached from my life as I felt, I was hyper-aware of every little detail of the entire house knowing that it was the last time I would ever see it. The scuff marks on the bottom of the fridge, the wallpaper that was peeling above the living room window, the shine of the door handles, the marks on the carpets.

'Alright, angel, go get changed into that new dress of yours.' Mom smiled at me sweetly and I wanted to spit at the sugar in her tone, especially when she called me _angel_. Most people stop calling their daughters that when they're 12, but it was something of an inside joke for my parents. They were so sickeningly proud of what I could do that they had even resorted to using it as a common nickname.

'It's only 11.' I had just finished a full breakfast of pancakes and syrup and I really wanted to just relax for an hour or two.

'Do what your mother says, Bree.' Dad said sternly.I made sure to let them know how disgruntled I was by scraping my chair back as loudly as I could and then taking extra care to thump down hard on every step back up to my room. Mom's laugh echoed after me and I heard Dad snort something about having to start acting my age.

I was tempted to slam my door, but I thought that might be pushing it a bit. So I just closed it softly and retrieved the dress from my closet. My face scrunched up in distaste the second I slid it on over my head. It was nice to look at, sure, but the material felt scratchy and wrong against my skin. It was plain, simple, floaty and white, and it brushed to my knees. The neckline was just a little too deep for my liking, though I don't know why I had expected any less from Jim.

'So burning this later.' I whispered to myself as I sat down at my vanity mirror and got to work with drying my hair. I watched my reflection closely, trying to look at myself from a strangers point of view. I wanted to know what the people of South Park would see when they passed me in the street.

At least nothing about me screamed _freak_. I looked just like my mom: green eyes and blonde hair, small and normal - a perfectly mediocre five at a push. Melanie was the one that turned all the heads. But when I killed, the green would glow emerald and my hair would shine gold. Even my lips became fuller, and my skin would took on a slight coppery tan. But that wasn't me. That was _her -_ my monster, beaming out like a beacon, glad that I'd let myself slip up and given her control. If I only had to fight her when it came to my curse, I might've been alright with it. It was when she tried to push through whenever she goddamn felt like it. It had happened once at one of the few cult meetings I'd went do, and it was all because she had felt a little threatened by one of the woman there. That was when Jim explained to me that it was natural; that it happened to all of Cthulhu's Children. It was part of the "blessing" for us to be able to lure people in, then do the Lord's bidding. Round about there was when I decided I needed to get away from whatever the fuck kind of show they were running.

It was comforting to know there were others out there in the same boat as me, but it still felt like some desperate fantasy. What where the chances that I would ever run into someone who despised themselves as much as I did? Who had unknowingly killed not one, but _three_ innocent people?

I would never forget the first time. It was my very first date and I'd sat in front of this very mirror to get ready for it. He had been cute and I remember loving the attention. He had been sweet and I remember how nervous I was. He had been 14 - a year older than me - and I remember the way the moonlight made his beautiful chocolate eyes twinkle when he looked down at me. He had been tall for his age and I remember the way my heart raced when he leaned down. He had been gentle, and I remember feeling the warmth of his lips, and then the electrical pulse of static. It was my first kiss; I thought it was a normal feeling. _It wasn't_. He had been terrified and I remembered the way he stumbled and fell. He had died staring up at me with cold, lifeless eyes that had been filled with so much tenderness just seconds before. His face had been haunting me for 4 years now, and I don't think it would ever stop.

An unexpected tear leaked from my eye as I mourned my victims. It had happened twice more before my parents decided it was time to tell me everything. I had wanted to scream and cry and tear at my hair until I woke myself up from the nightmare I was surely in, but they had looked so fucking _happy_. I hadn't wanted to burst their bubble, so I asked questions and added in the little "ooh's" and "ah's" when it was appropriate. Maybe things would've been different now if I hadn't managed to contain myself from lashing out, but unless I was to come across someone who could pop me back in time, it was something I would be guessing about until the day I died.

I gave a heavy sigh that rattled me out of my depressing thoughts and caught sight of my reflection again when I changed my earrings. The monster in me gave no warning as to when she would rip to life, and if she made an appearance, I would be seeing her twisted grin behind my lids long after I'd left my mirror behind. Needless to say, that made me nervous.

'Bree? We're heading over to Jim's early to help set everything up. Are you ready?' There was a timid knock on my door and I twisted to see my mom poke her head round into my room.

'Uh...'_ Shit_. I glanced over at the digital alarm clock perched on my bed side table. It was only 12:30. My bus was at 4, 'I was gonna head over to Mel's for a bit.'

'Oh, honey, I don't think-'

'Mom, it's my birthday.' I slipped into my best puppy dog expression, 'I really want to show her this dress too. She'll love it. I have to drop off a pair of shoes for her as well. We have it all planned out, Mom, ple-'

'Okay, fine!' She threw her hands up in defeat and rolled all her weight onto her left leg. She brushed a lock of blonde from her face, 'Don't be late. Don't bring Melanie along. Don't-'

'Talk to anyone on the way there or speak of the Lord to those deemed unworthy. I get it, Mom.' I forced a smile onto my face upon reciting the usual rules.

'That's my girl. See you later. Tell Melanie I said hi!'

'I will!' I called after her when she left. I breathed a small sigh of relief when she left me in peace and pressed my hands to my face. I was hoping to put off leaving until 3 at least. If I went to Melanie's, knowing her, I might miss the bus completely, but if I was to go and wait at the bus stop now, the chances of getting caught by someone who knew my parents were high, and it would be all over before it even had the chance to start.

_Just go_. The voice in my head was firm enough to have me on my feet in seconds. I was pulling on my shoes at the front door when I realised that this was it. No more waiting, no more pretending, no more wishing.

I yanked on my jacket and pulled my hair out from underneath the collar, 'See you at Jim's!' I called through the house. Both my parents answered with a faint goodbye, and that's when my head began to buzz with the thought of what would happen if I was to get caught.

_GO_! The voice was a violent snarl this time, urging me through my hesitation. Gritting my teeth, I opened the door and unintentionally slammed it behind me. In my haste, I almost forgot to retrieve my bag and had to jog back up the path to fish it out of the bushes. I slung it over my shoulder with such force that I almost knocked myself over, but it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was how fast I could get to the bus station without being spotted by any familiar faces.

At a brisk walk, I made it there in 20 minutes. Scared to hang around outside, I made a bee-line for the bathroom. Locking myself in a cubicle, I changed out of my dress and into jeans and a jumper. Feeling much more comfortable and a hell of a lot warmer, I flipped down the lid of the toilet and settled down to wait away from prying eyes.

Oh, how the hours _dragged_. My heart hadn't left my mouth and I felt like I'd chewed my nails down to the bone. However, through the mix of paranoia and fear, excitement was bubbling in my stomach, just waiting for it's chance to consume me when I was free. I tried to keep myself focused on that, but with every little noise making me jump, it was pretty hard.

When I felt like enough time had passed, I warily checked my phone. No new messages. No missed calls. So far so good. I only had 25 more minutes left now, and I decided it was worth the chance to leave my safe spot and wait outside, just in case it was early.

Before leaving the bathroom, I dropped my phone in the bin in the corner. I wouldn't miss it desperately, and I had enough money with me to buy a cheap replacement. I'd been saving for months for this new life, and the small, materialistic things didn't bother me. Like everything else here, they were too easy to leave behind.

The 25 minutes it took for the bus to come in was more trying than the three hours I'd waited before hand. To save what was left of my nails, I tapped them against my thigh in a fast-paced rhythm, trying not to think about how I should've gotten Mel's brother to buy me a pack of cigarettes yesterday. I'd grown up hating them, but after my second murder, it was the only thing that helped ease my guilt, even by a fraction. And I still had this crazy idea that the nicotine would kill the monster inside me. So far, it hadn't worked, but I would carry on trying.

When the bus finally crawled into the stop, my heart skipped a couple of beats and then restarted again in overdrive. _I'm really doing this. This is really happening. _Everything seemed to blur as I hopped up and paid for my ticket. Even when I slid into a seat near the back and pulled my iPod from my bag, it hardly seemed real.

I laid my head against the window and twisted my fingers together on my lap, letting the beat of my music fill my head and chase away the last of my worries. The excitement finally took it's hold and a hysterical giggle threatened to escape me. _I'm REALLY doing this! This is REALLY happening!_

My breath caught when the bus started to reverse and Denver began to roll away from me. Once we were out of the city, I sank back in my seat and closed my eyes, feeling a grin tug at my lips. I had done it and by the time they realised I was gone, I would be well out of their reach.

A black cloud of "what if's" tried to shadow my good mood. With a determined huff, I cranked up my music and lost myself in it, successfully guising every negative thought that would undoubtedly bring me down.

It seemed to take no time at all for us to reach our destination and when I caught sight of houses in the distance, I sat up in my seat so I could have a better look of my new town. My nose brushed the window and fogged up the glass, but I didn't care enough to wipe it away. I still saw the wooden welcome sign that simply read "South Park" and I still saw the locals strolling along the streets. They all looked happy and friendly, and another grin splashed over my face when I realised that that would be me in the days to come.

I would be _happy_. I would be _safe_. I would be _free_.


	3. Once A Liar

_I've got a home grown heart and I'm ready to let it go,_  
_I'm gonna follow that road if that's where the story goes._

_- Where I Belong (Altered Sky)_

* * *

I walked slowly along the streets of South Park, taking my time in memorising the streets and the signs and the stores. Having never left Denver before, everything seemed so exotic and new - even the snow! It was falling lightly in small, soft flakes and any other time, I would've zipped my jacket and pulled my hood right up to shield my face and my hair, but I didn't want to miss a single thing.

It wasn't until I had grinned up into a fourth stranger's face that I remembered the cult members who lived here. My gut clenched and I almost stalled myself, but I forced my feet to keep moving. I was trying to be normal here, and having a panic attack in the middle of the street wouldn't put me off to a good start.

_Breathe. Just breathe_. I repeated the words over and over in my head until I could think properly again. There weren't many members living here anymore. According to one of my Dad's friends, Jack, the cult actually used to be based in South Park, but the police had shut it down and arrested them for "cultish activity." When Jim got released, he packed up and moved to Denver to restart it there. Almost the entire group followed him. I had never gotten the balls to confront my parents about it, but it was a question I was planning to ask Aunt Holly.

'You'll be okay.' I whispered to myself, content in knowing my mouth was hidden behind my scarf. Being caught talking to thin air wouldn't help my case here either.

After I had been walking for at least half an hour without finding any of the landmarks Aunt Holly told me about on the phone, I decided that I was lost and I needed to ask for directions. I wasn't exactly shy, but I was wary about striking up a conversation with anybody who could be around my parents age. I had been reckless enough already. I couldn't afford another slip-up. I had to be careful, but I had to find my Aunt's house some way or another.

It was a vicious internal debate and I almost stamped my foot and threw my hands up in frustration. But then I caught a glimpse of purple from the corner of my eye and looked over to see a sign that read Tom's Rhinoplasty. The name rang a series of bells in my head and I scratched my cheek as I tried to remember my conversation with Aunt Holly word for word. Town square, main street, store then... City Hall? Or was it the police station?

With a heavy sigh, I slumped down onto the nearest bench and propped my elbows up on my knees to cup my chin with my hands. I stared intensely at the dazzling purple and black of the sign, willing it to grow an arm and point me in the direction I needed to go.

'Shotgun!'

'No way, fat-ass. Stan called it forever the second I got this baby.'

'_What_? That doesn't count!'

'My car, my rules.'

I lifted my head towards the sound of an argument and saw four boys stopped down the street next to a sleek black Corsa. One of them was wearing a bright green ushanka and the other one was a little bit on the chubby side. They were the two now shooting insults at each other as Ushanka unlocked the car door and slid into the drivers seat. The one with the blue poofball hat squeezed by Chubby and into the passenger seat, brushing off the threats now aimed towards him with a smug smile.

'Why do I always have to sit in the back with him?' The one with the orange parka groaned. My monster stirred from inside me so suddenly that I swayed forward, almost sliding straight from the bench. She used that tiny moment of weakness to lift my head and train my eyes onto Parka. _That one_, she whispered. I frowned, confused by her train of thought. None-the-less, I let her admire Parka for a few more seconds before shooing her away again.

'Fuck you, Kenny!' Chubby had raised his voice now.

'Buy me dinner first, then we'll talk.' Parka - or Kenny, was it? - winked and a small laugh burst from my lips at Chubby's expression. Both of them looked round and the smile froze on my face.

_Wave then, you retard! _I slapped myself mentally, then raised my hand in greeting. From what I could see of Kenny's face, he smiled and waved back. I hadn't realised I'd been holding my breath until the relief knocked it all back out of my lungs in one huge gust. How long had it been since I'd gotten on with any other teenager apart from Melanie? I couldn't remember the last time I'd even _spoken_ to someone else my age that wasn't her.

A finger tapped my shoulder and I about leaped from my skin at the contact. My hand flew to my chest where I was sure my heart had stopped beating all together. I regarded the shoulder-tapper with wild eyes and relaxed when I saw it was only a girl who looked to be about my age.

'Sorry. You scared me.'

'My bad!' The girl giggled, 'How about we try that again?'

'Sure. Get Bree's attention, take two.' I nodded once and looked away from her, trying not to grin like an absolute lunatic. _This felt great!_

The girl touched her fingers to my shoulder again, and this time, I remained calm and turned to her with a small, polite smile on my face, 'Hi.'

'Hi.' She laughed and extended her hand for me to shake, 'I'm Wendy. I haven't seen you around here before and I wasn't sure if you were waiting for someone or...' She motioned towards my bag which was sitting at my feet.

'Just hanging out for a bit until I remember where I'm meant to be going.' It sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation in my head, but when Wendy's cerulean blue eyes narrowed in confusion, I blushed, 'I mean, I got lost looking for my Aunt's house. I can't remember where it is.'

'Oh... Who's your Aunt?' And just like that, her pale face had smoothed back into a warm smile.

'Holly Cameron.'

'Hey, they live on my street!' Her smile cracked into a full blown grin. She went to start moving, but the loud honk of a car horn halted her in her tracks. The black Corsa that the small group of guys had gotten into eased to a stop. The driver side window slid down and Ushanka leaned his head out.

'Wendy! Harbucks later?' His red hair curled out from beneath his hat and he pushed it out of his eyes in order to see her more clearly.

'I don't know, I have this assignment-'

'You can do the assignment tomorrow.' Poofball leaned over Ushanka and pouted, 'Please, Wendy!'

She looked at him for a moment before sighing, 'Because you said it so nicely...'

'Yes!' Poofball grinned victoriously, 'Love you!'

'Love you too.' Wendy rolled her eyes, but her cheeks took on a rosy tint, 'Bye, guys!'

'Bye!' Four voices chorused. I managed a smile when Ushanka flashed us a two-fingered wave as he drove away. I blew out a small, shaky breath, proud of myself for managing to keep such a level head. I had a chance to start over with nothing to tarnish my name, and the last impression I wanted to give anybody here was that I was just another awkward loser.

'They seem nice.' I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind to break the silence before it became awkward.

'They are. Except Cartman. He's an asshole.' She scoffed and I knew immediately that she was talking about Chubby.

'Noted.' I smiled. She returned it warmly and then her eyes flashed to my bag, 'Right, Holly's. Okay, well um, follow me, I guess. It would be horrible of me to let you get lost again.' She started walking and I scooped up my bag before jogging to catch up to her.

'So did you say your name was Bree?' Wendy asked conversationally.

'Yup.'

'Is that short for like, Brianna or is it just Bree?'

'Just Bree. Normal and boring. My middle name's Anabelle. I would rather have been called that.'

'Mine's Marie.' She crinkled her nose, making me laugh.

'What's wrong with Marie?'

'Same reason you don't like your name. It's too _plain_.' She shrugged, 'Anyway, are you just here for the weekend?'

'Nope.' I popped the "p."

'Oh?' She hadn't actually asked me straight up, but her tone implied that she was curious. I'd only known her for about five minutes, but she seemed like a nice girl. A million times nicer than Mel, who only pried for gossip. Wendy seemed genuine, and I liked that. So I gave her the improvised edited version of the story where my parents had been fighting constantly and my Aunt was scared they would take it out on me, so she offered to look after me until my parents got their shit together.

Wendy had boldly squeezed my arm sympathetically and then quickly let the subject drop, almost like she knew I didn't really want to keep talking about it. She kept up a constant string of conversation, hardly letting me get a word in edgewise. She would ask me the occasional question, but in between that, I learned all about her friends and their school and the teenage hot spots. I was more than happy to let her ramble on, absolutely loving the way she talked about this place. It sounded more than perfect, and I was actually _excited_ to get out and meet the people she spoke so fondly of, and to just be a normal teenager with them.

We stopped outside a pretty two storey house and I tilted my head as I absorbed the image, trying to picture running up the steps, or lying on the porch roof to look at the stars. Blots of red and yellow poked out from the snow beneath the windows and I pictured myself helping Aunt Holly keep after the garden when the snow was melted and the sun was out. The thought put a smile on my face, but at the same time, it tugged at my heartstrings. I could actually see myself having a real life here, one that I should've been living in Denver with my Mom and Dad. It was ridiculous that I had to run away to South Park of all places to have that with my Aunt and Uncle instead.

'You okay?' Wendy's gloved hand brushed my arm and without meaning to, I flinched away from her.

'Sorry, yeah, I'm fine.' I nodded and tried to flash her a bright smile. She smiled back, but it was tiny. She looked at me with eyes that said "I know you're lying", but she didn't bring it up. Her reaction was quite the opposite.

'Wanna come to Harbucks later?' She asked.

'Uh...' I had no idea what to say. It was all well and good thinking that I could be confident enough to secure a decent place for myself on the social ladder here, but it was a different matter all together when it came to actually doing it.

'Are you worried about the guys?' She arched a thin, black brow. She never let me finish before she carried on talking, 'They're seriously nothing to be scared of. Cartman's bark is way worse than his bite, and Kenny can only think with one head at a time, so in theory, he's harmless. Stan and Kyle-'

'It's not the guys!' I held up one of my hands to cut her off, 'I just don't want it to be weird.'

She blinked once, and then she started laughing, 'You think that taking the new girl out for coffee is weird?' She laughed even harder, 'Bree, you're in _South Park_! We are literally the masters of weird.' Wendy laid a hand over her stomach and brushed her jet black hair back over her shoulder with the other, 'Listen, if you're gonna be staying longer than a week, it'll be nice to get to know you more and... I hope I'm not over-stepping my mark here, but I think you could really use something to take your mind off of shitty family stuff.'

She hadn't over-stepped any mark because she was one hundred percent right. If I said no, I would just be spending the night beating myself up about how I wasn't jumping at the chance to make friends.

'I guess.' I shrugged one shoulder and looked back at the dark maroon coloured house in front of me.

'Awesome!' Wendy squealed and pulled out her mobile, pulling up the keypad, 'What's your number?''

I ground my teeth together, 'I don't have a phone yet.' _Fuck_. What seventeen year old doesn't have a phone? She glanced up at me with the same confusion she'd expressed earlier and I lied quickly, 'My parents are retarded about technology. They said they were gonna get me one for my birthday, but...'

'It just kinda fell through?' She finished for me and I nodded. I felt horrible lying to her. She seemed so sweet and the only truth I'd told her was my name. What a nasty friend I was going to turn out to be.

'Well, that's okay.' She slipped her phone back into her pocket, 'I only stay up there. I'll come round for you.'

'What time?'

'Say... Eight?'

'Sounds good.' I tightened my grip on the strap of my back, 'Thanks for... ya know, walking me here.'

Wendy's grin lit up her entire face and it was pleasantly infectious, 'Any time. In two weeks you'll be able to find your way round this place with your eyes closed. Trust me.' She laughed once and then started to back off down the road, 'But yeah, I'll see you later, okay?'

'See you.' I gave her a small wave and then braced myself for the first step up the path of my new home. I'd spoken to Holly on the phone, and she sounded kind enough, but I wasn't sure what to expect about any of this. I had followed a random, desperate whim, and this was where it had taken me.

I hadn't realised I'd started walking until I was tripping up the porch steps. I steadied myself against the railing and blew out a shaky breath, 'You can do this.' It was the only mental shove I needed to rap my knuckles against the hard wood of the door.

20 full seconds went by before the door opened to reveal a woman about my mom's height. Her dark blonde hair was cut into a soft bob and she was wiping her hands on a light blue tea towel.

'Aunt Holly?' It came out as a timid whisper.

Her green eyes which were identical to mine widened and she slowly threw the towel over her shoulder. As she stepped closer, she reached up her hands and laid them on my shoulders, 'Bree?'

'Hi.' I smiled sheepishly.

'Oh, sweetheart.' She pulled me against her and I forced myself to relax. I dropped my bag so I could hug her back and her grip on me tightened, 'I'm so glad you're here.'

'Believe me, I'm glad to be here too.' I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, breathing in her homely scent of warm cinnamon. It did wonders for my nerves, and I found myself wondering why I had never plucked up the courage to come here before.

'Is it snowing?' Holly moved away first and peered round me, 'It is. Okay, let's get you in and warmed up. You must be freezing!' She took it upon herself to bring in my bag.

I stepped inside and slowly took my jacket off while my gaze passed over the pictures hanging on the walls. They were mainly of Aunt Holly and a man who must've been my Uncle. My gaze zeroed in on the one closest to the mirror hanging above the half table in the hallway and I smiled. It was from their wedding day, and even though it was only a photograph, you could sure tell how much they loved each other; you could see the adoration in their eyes.

'Why don't you have this up in the living room or something?' I queried.

'Because Phil found a better one he wanted to put up there instead, so we compromised.' Holly closed the door and laid my bag at the bottom of the stairs, 'I would've had you as a flower girl if I'd been on better terms with your mom, but they weren't even at the wedding.'

I pretended not to hear the word "mom". That conversation was yet to come, but for now, I just wanted to get myself acquainted with my new guardians, 'When was it?'

'Seven years ago.'

'Ah.' I nodded once and crossed my arms over my chest, 'Your dress was really pretty.'

'Thank you.' She grinned and stood next to me to admire the picture. I tried to feel any of that first-meeting awkwardness, but it wasn't there. I was getting a comfortable vibe, one that was settling me quickly and easily.

'Is he working, or...?' I motioned towards the man in the photo.

'Sleeping at the minute,' Aunt Holly checked her watch, 'Should be up in the next half hour or so. He works night shifts at Skeeter's.'

'Barman?'

'Only on Tuesday's and Wednesday's. On Friday's and Saturday's, he's a bouncer.' I followed Holly straight down the hallway into the kitchen and sat down at the small, circular table.

'Security in a place like this?'

'Just for weekends usually, but you'd be surprised.' She pulled two mugs from the cupboard, 'We're not as small of a town as we used to be, you know. Like everywhere else, we've expanded over the years. Population five thousand or something? Oh, I can't remember. It was in the paper a few months back.' She waved her hand nonchalantly and lifted the coffee pot.

'So there's a lot of trouble then?' I ran a hand through my hair and smiled again in thanks when she slid the mug across the table towards me and pulled up a seat of her own.

She visibly suppressed a sigh, 'It's gotten worse the past few years, I guess.'

'Gosh, what kind of place have I moved to?' I kept a teasing lilt to my tone, but it didn't make her smile. If anything, it seemed to turn the conversation into something much more serious than just playful banter.

'A place where you'll be safe.' She pursed her lips for a second or two and then blew a huff of air through her nose, 'Okay, I'm sorry, but I have to ask you face-to-face. Why didn't you come here sooner, Bree?'

I blinked and then dropped my gaze to the steam rising from my pearly white mug, 'I don't know. Probably because I was scared.'

'Of what?'

'I don't know.' I repeated. I took my bottom lip between my teeth and peered up through my lashes. She was wearing a face of genuine concern and the sudden longing for her to hug me again and tell me that everything was okay now was almost over-whelming.

'You mentioned a ritual.' Holly took a different approach this time, and I was more than happy to tell her whatever she wanted to know about _that_. I told her everything, from the Immortal, to what they wanted to do with him and why they had needed me for it.

'So... Wait.' We had long finished our coffee and she had her elbows leaning on the table. Her fingers were pressed into her temples and her eyes were closed as she tried to process the information I had given her, 'Did they tell you _exactly_ what you had to do other than show up?'

'No. They just said that it would help them catch the Immortal.'

'And who is the Immortal?'

I shrugged, 'They were always pretty careful not to mention a name.'

'That. That's what's bothering me,' Holly scratched at her head and opened her eyes again, 'They never told you anything... About anything. Why wouldn't they tell you anything?'

'I'm past caring. I figured out a lot of it on my own, so I don't mind. I'm not sure on dates and stuff, but I do know that the Immortal showed up at one of the meetings a few years back looking for answers about what they did to him. Apparently he told them that he was going to come back and kill them all one by one. I started taking everything my parents said with a pinch of salt though, so I don't know if that's completely true,' I rolled my eyes, 'They overreact about _everything_.'

'Did you see him? The Immortal?'

'Not personally. Dad said I was too young to go to the meetings back then. But I was old enough to be sneaky enough to eavesdrop into their conversations at home. They mentioned something about a cape and a question mark. That's when I started to think that maybe they all dealt in drugs and the Cult thing was just a cover-'

'Hold that thought.' Holly was out of her seat and had disappeared from the kitchen before I could even take a breath. She returned a second later with a paper in her hands. She was flipping through the pages, her brows knitted in a concentrated frown, 'Look.' When she found what she had been searching for, she laid the paper flat out in front of me.

"_**MYSTERION IS BACK**_" read the article's bold title.

'Mysterion?' I tilted my head up to look at my aunt, who was still standing next to me.

'Just read it.' She tapped the page with her finger. I did as she instructed, but it was more of a skim through than anything. It wasn't that interesting. From what I could pick up, Mysterion was just some kid that had taken his obsession with Batman a little too far, and everyone in the town had been worried when he hadn't been spotted in a month or two. But someone had apparently seen him yesterday evening by the bar, and everything was great again.

'Why are you showing me this?' I tried to close the paper and hand it back to Aunt Holly, but she quickly slammed it back onto the table.

'Next page.' She flipped it over and pointed towards the blurry picture in the top left hand corner. I squinted, leaned closer and vaguely managed to make out a neon green question mark and the tell tale flick of a cloak through the grainy quality. The cogs of my brain spun and suddenly, it registered.

'You... You think _he_ is the thing the cult want to stop?' I tried not to sound incredulous.

'You said question marks and capes, right?' Holly's eyebrows raised.

'Yeah, but-'

'But nothing!' She laughed and crouched so that she wasn't looking down on me, 'You, of all people, shouldn't believe in coincidence, Bree. Maybe he can help you.'

'My mom and dad are part of the group trying to keep him dead. I don't think he'd want to help me. Guilty by association and all that crap.' I went to close the paper again, and this time, I was allowed to do so.

'He can't do that. He's a superhero, it's his job to be the good guy.' Aunt Holly grinned and pushed herself back to her feet.

'So you want me to trust this guy? The one who dresses up as a hero every night and runs around "protecting the citizens of South Park"?' I quoted the air with my fingers.

'If he's your best shot at figuring out that curse of yours, then yes. He's probably just as confused about himself as you are. He might actually be glad to meet you.' She said it like it was the most matter-of-fact thing in the world, and she actually did have a valid point. If I had been eating myself up about being alone and having no one to share the pain of a curse with, then he was bound to have done the same.


	4. Always a Fake

_Secrets got me torn apart,_  
_Trying to destroy my heart,_  
_But I can see the light,_  
_It's cutting through the night._

_- Stand Up (Fireflight)_

* * *

'So what am I gonna do about school and stuff?' I asked Aunt Holly as I helped her clean up the dishes from dinner. It had been something we discussed briefly while eating, and I decided I really did want to go to South Park High, but I wasn't sure how it would work considering I was technically a run-away.

'Don't worry about it, kiddo, we'll get it sorted.' Uncle Phil came up from behind me and clapped a huge hand down onto my shoulder when he leaned round me to get the coffee pot. When he had first appeared earlier, I couldn't help the small spark of fear that had flickered in my stomach. It had been quickly extinguished when I had been flashed a broad grin and lifted clean off my feet into a bone-crushing hug. He was huge, and was proud in telling me he just cleared 6'4 when I asked. And when a man that tall was burly enough to snap your neck with a click of his fingers, it was easy to tell why I had felt a bit flighty when I saw him.

'Are you sure?' I glanced up at him, 'I mean, it's a lot of hassle-'

'We'll get it sorted.' He repeated, more stern this time.

'Thank you.' I beamed, then turned to Holly, 'Seriously. Thank you for everything.'

'Oh, it's really not a problem, sweetie. We've been waiting such a long time to meet you, and when you called...' A small smile played round her lips as she trailed off, only to restart a completely different sentence, 'You'll always be welcome here.'

'Thank you.' I said again. I had no idea how I was going to be able to repay them for this, so for now, I was going to settle for just thanking them at every given chance I could.

Aunt Holly responded by flicking her fingers at me, sprinkling my face with warm, soapy water. I squealed and scrubbed at my cheeks dramatically with the sleeves of my jumper. I heard her laugh and when I moved my hands from my face, I saw her hop up and kiss Phil's cheek as he passed. A warm feeling fuzzed in my chest and when Holly turned back round to grin at me, the feeling spread out all over my body, warming every single cell it touched, all the way down to my toes. For the first time in my entire life, I truly felt at home. I had watched these scenes play out all the time on the TV and I had always wondered what it would be like to have parents who were happy with each other and gave their kids a happy life in a happy house. _Now I was finally living it_.

The thought of having everything I'd ever dreamed of had me remembering that I had made plans to go out tonight with Wendy. I checked the clock that was hanging near the back door and quickly laid down the plate I had been drying. It was coming on half past 7, which meant I only had half an hour to get ready.

'Hey, uh, can I jump in the shower real quick?' I asked gingerly.

'You don't have to ask!' Aunt Holly said.

'Sorry.' I threw her a quick smile before bolting towards the stairs. Uncle Phil had shown me to the spare room which was now mine before dinner. I'd been too caught up with getting to know my new guardians that I'd just laid my bag on the comfortable looking double bed without even thinking of unpacking. I used to prig at mom and dad for years about letting me upgrade from a single bed back in Denver, but it was a no-go until I was 18 with them. So I'd had to resist the urge to jump on it like a 5 year old when I was told it was all mine here.

'Okay... I can shower and be ready in half an hour, right?' I muttered to myself as I pulled out the first pieces of clothing I put my hands on in the bag and ran to the bathroom. My monster stirred once I was standing under the spray of hot water and I bared my teeth in retaliation, mentally shoving her back and out of the way. But by God, was she in the mood to put up a struggle. I was so concentrated on locking her in an imaginary cage that I didn't realise I was dressed until I was absently zipping up my old faded _Meatloaf_ hoody.

'Oh.' I whispered into thin air. While I raked a brush through my hair and teased it into a damp braid, I checked the time on the digital clock that sat alone on my bedside table. 5 minutes before Wendy was meant to be here.

I blew out a shaky breath and swung open the closet door to triple-check my reflection in the full length mirror that was attached to the inside. I looked normal. Normal was good. _Normal was good_. The doorbell pinged and I about jumped out of my skin. My heart fluttered nervously and I rubbed at my stomach to try and ease some of the knots that were beginning to form there. I swallowed twice and smoothed my braid over my left shoulder before flipping my hood up.

'Bree!' Uncle Phils deep voice shouted.

'Coming!' I called back. I checked myself out once more, just to be on the safe side, and then firmly closed the closet door. As I descended the stairs and I saw Wendy standing on the porch with a welcoming grin on her face, I felt the tension in my shoulders roll away. It piled straight back on when I stopped to slide my feet into my boots and realised she wasn't alone.

'Hey.' Wendy waved.

'Hey.' I smiled and forced my eyes away from the curly-haired blonde standing behind her, 'What time do you want me home?' I asked Phil.

He stared at me blankly for a moment and then checked his watch, 'Is whenever you want a good answer? I don't know how to do this whole "looking after a teenager" thing.' Curly Hair giggled and Wendy pressed a hand to her mouth to conceal her own laughter.

'Weekdays, I'll be home by 10. Weekends, 1. Deal?' I held my hand out and he chuckled before grasping it in his own.

'Deal.' He nudged my head, urging me out the door, 'Have a good time, kiddo. See you later.'

'Bye.' I felt a huge grin break across my face. This really was the best birthday ever.

'Settled in alright?' Wendy started to walk down the street and I followed her carefully, watching my step so that I didn't automatically start bouncing with joy.

'Yeah, great, thanks.'

'Awesome! Alright, so this is Bebe.' She motioned towards Curly Hair, 'Bebe, this is Bree, the girl I was telling you about.'

'Hi.' Bebe's smile was small and cute, but my monster didn't like it _at all_. She rattled the bars of the cage I had shoved her into, and I almost choked on air at the sense of nausea she had created.

'We don't have to walk far, don't worry.' Wendy chirped, 'It's just down on Main Street.'

'I would've given us a ride, but my car's kind of... Broken.' Bebe pulled a face of discontent, 'I _told_ my dad I didn't want that piece of junk.'

'Why don't you get Clyde to look at it for you?' Wendy's eyebrows jumped suggestively as she banged Bebe with her hip.

The blonde's face burned as red as her jacket, 'Clyde isn't even that good with cars.'

'Know anybody else who is?'

'Kenny and Craig.'

'Why doesn't that surprise me?'

I stayed silent as the girls discussed the guys in their year and who was best under the hood of a car. Wendy swore it was her boyfriend, Stan, but Bebe was leaning more towards someone called Craig. I didn't mind just listening to their conversation, I really didn't, but the beast I was sharing my body with... She minded. She minded a lot, and when Bebe and Wendy giggled together, she ripped away the bars of the cage and jumped out, ready to fight me properly for control.

'_Not now_.' I hissed under my breath.

'Huh?' The girls turned their heads to look at me and I felt an embarrassed flush creep up my neck and onto my cheeks.

'Uh, are we almost there?' I didn't think they were going to buy it, but to my surprise, they just nodded enthusiastically and verbally mapped out the rest of our route so I had a clearer understanding of where we were going.

Thankfully, they didn't forget about me there. Bebe went on to ask how long I was staying in South Park for and if I was going to be attending high school here. When I told her that was the plan, she grinned a dazzling grin that rubbed my monster up the wrong way. Even though Bebe said that it would be nice to have a new face around, the beast snarled and kicked, _screaming_ about how much she hated this girl. She felt threatened by another female, and she wanted to show Bebe that she was nothing compared to her. I was used to this kind of struggle, but I really was not in the mood for it tonight.

I wanted to scream back and tell her to can it for a few hours, but I was playing the normal girl charade, and for that to work in my favour, I couldn't start arguing with the voice in my head. So instead, I did the best I could to ignore her and concentrated on Wendy.

'Here we are!' She rubbed her gloved hands together before pushing the door open. I entered the deep red building behind her, earning myself a string of insults from the monster at leaving my back exposed to Bebe. I rolled my eyes at her insistence and pushed my hood down.

'Hey Tweek.' Wendy smiled warmly at the anxious blonde behind the counter.

'H-hey, Wendy, gah!' His left eye twitched violently and he twisted his fingers into his shirt, 'Wh-what can I get for you?'

'Usual, please.' She slid him a ten dollar bill and then quickly pulled it back, 'Wait. Bree, what do you have?'

'Just whatever you're having. Coffee's coffee, right?' I couldn't believe I hadn't thought to take any money out. If I'd had more time to get myself ready, then yes, I probably would've fished out my purse from the bottom of my bag, but I had been in such a rush, and I was panicking and then it had been time to go and-

'Come on, Bree.' I was snapped out of it by a tug on the sleeve of my hoody. Bebe and Wendy were walking me towards a booth in the corner - one that was already occupied. I counted four heads and my monster bristled again, shuddering with such ferocity that it tripped a shiver down my own spine. She had been fine with Wendy, seeing her as the hero that had saved us from being stranded in a strange place. But there was now too many people, too fast, and she wasn't coping well with it.

'Hey, finally! We were starting to think you'd bailed on us.' Poofball, who I realised now was the one called Stan, grinned widely and got to his feet when we approached the table. He leaned forward and pecked Wendy on the lips before resuming his position next to Ushanka, pulling his girlfriend down with him.

'We don't all have cars, Stan.' Bebe grunted softly while hauling a couple of chairs over from a nearby table.

'Yours still fucked?'

'Yup.' She slumped down into one of the seats and motioned vaguely for me to take the other, 'But whatever. It's my birthday next month.'

'You really think your dad's gonna buy you another car?' Parka- I mean, Kenny, scoffed. He was tucked in the corner of the both next to Chubby. His back was to the wall and his feet were planted firmly against Chubby's side to keep him from moving any closer. It was a small detail, but I noticed it. Or rather... _She_ did. She was drinking in everything about him when I let her get a few sneaky looks. He really wasn't bad-looking, I would give her that, but it was weirding me out and making me nervous. For all the years that I had been aware of her presence, she had never acted out like this before.

'No, but my mom might.' Bebe smirked proudly. While Wendy and most of the guys found it amusing, it was the last straw for _her_. It was the final shove she needed to start squeezing through. I glanced down to see a lock of my hair darken to a deep, honey gold.

_Stop it!_ _Fuck_! I imagined myself slapping at the beast and forcing her back, but it was too late. I was already starting to feel the disgustingly familiar tingle of my skin and the tell-tale burn of my eyes. I squeezed them shut and kneaded the heel of my hands into them, dipping my head and cursing myself for not keeping my hood up.

'Bree?' I wanted to look up when Wendy said my name, but they couldn't see this. Nobody here could ever see this.

'Fine, yeah. I, uh... Contacts. I wear contacts.' I lied quickly.

'Snap! Here, I should have some drops on me.' Who was that? _Please, _please _fuck off so I can see who's talking to me_, I begged the monster. She shook her head.

'I told you those would come in handy some day.' I knew it was Kenny that spoke next when my internal struggle stopped. Just like that, the beast dropped her efforts and retreated back to a safe distance, trembling in anticipation for what he was going to say next.

'You told me I was retarded for carrying them everywhere, dude.'

'Did I?'

'Yes.' I chanced a glance down at my hair through my fingers and held back a heaving sigh of relief when I saw only my normal colour. To keep up the act though, I kept one hand pressed into my right eye and squinted with my left.

It was Ushanka that was holding out a little bottle of clear liquid for me to take, 'No worse feeling than dry contacts, right?'

'Right.' I let him lay the bottle into my palm. The very tips of his fingers brushed my skin, and he jerked his hand back. Through my lashes, I saw his eyes widen when he looked at me. My stomach quivered nervously and I wondered what his problem was. I forced my lips up into a smile, 'Thanks.'

'No problem.' He leaned back in his seat, brow furrowing into a small frown.

'Two minutes.' I got to my feet and scurried to find the bathroom. Once the door had swung closed behind me, I let myself collapse against the sinks, drawing in lungfuls of air while trying to collect my thoughts. It took longer than I expected to regain my equilibrium, and once I was feeling steady again, the first thing I did was glare straight into the eyes of my reflection.

'You're a bitch, you know that?' I whispered. In response, I got to watch her morph my face to match hers. She was excited, and her grin was spread unnaturally wide over her cheeks.

_Thatonethatonethatonethatone! _was all she kept squealing. I scoffed, shaking my head clear of her awful vision.

'Just give me one night to make some friends, please?' I glanced back towards the mirror. My eyes flashed brightly - her confirmation -, and then she finally settled down, 'Thank you.' I didn't fully trust her to play nicely for the rest of the evening, so I was wary when I exited the bathroom and made my way back over to the group.

'Thanks, um...'

'Kyle.' Ushanka seemed to have collected himself in the time it had taken me to "put in the eye drops."

'Thanks for that, Kyle.' My returning grin wasn't forced this time, but it did slide instantly when I sat back down and caught his eye. They were a pretty, mossy green and they stood out on his pale face. It was _her_ reaction that made me tense up.

_He's strange_... Her voice ghosted through my mind. I felt her shift, wanting to get a closer look, but I was careful to keep an iron-clad hold on her this time.

'Any time. Bree, is it?' He held steady eye-contact and I nodded, almost scared to look away, 'We saw Wendy with you earlier. What brings you here?'

'It's a- It's a long story.' I glanced towards Wendy and she smiled sympathetically. My stomach panged with guilt and I scrambled to throw on a poker face, 'I've just moved in with my Aunt and Uncle.'

'Oh, cool. So you'll be starting at the high school then?'

'Hopefully.' I nodded and a shy smile flitted over my lips, 'Is it weird that I'm kind of excited for it?'

'Not at all.' Kyle said at the same time Chubby sighed loudly, 'Nerds.'

'They're not nerds, Cartman.' Kenny kicked him, blue eyes gleaming, 'They're just smarter than you.'

'I'm plenty smarter than them.' Chub- _Cartman _sniffed. I had a feeling things were about to get heated, so I was glad when Bebe announced louder than necessary that our coffee was coming.

'H-here ya go.' The guy that had served us, Tweek, laid the cups down shakily on the table. Up close, I could see the dark shadows smudged under his light blue eyes. I even noticed the small scabs on his lips from where he had bitten into them a little too hard. I recognised it instantly as an anxious habit. I'd been there, I'd done that. The thought of someone as innocent looking as this poor guy going through something like that made worry jab my stomach.

When he was gone, I turned to Bebe, 'Is he alright?'

'Who, Tweek?'

'Yeah.'

She frowned and twisted to watch him wipe a cloth over the counter, 'Yeah, he's fine. Why?'

'He just looks... I dunno.' I shrugged one shoulder and examined how high he jumped when the bell above the door pinged to announce a new customer.

'Tweek's always been like that. Don't worry.' She patted my arm in a reassuring gesture and I tried not to recoil away from her when my monster flared back to life with the contact.

For the next while, I listened to them all chat between themselves. _She_ tried to grumble about not getting noticed, but every time she started, I would take a big gulp of my coffee, scalding my throat to burn her into the background. The conversation turned towards the school's next football match, and half way through Wendy bragging about how Stan was the star jock, Bebe drew in an excited gasp and nudged my elbow, 'You should try out for the cheer squad!'

An amused giggle passed through my lips, 'Me? Cheering? No, thank you.'

'Aw, why not?' Her face fell into a pout. I had a feeling it was a look she used often.

'Do I look like cheerleader material to you? Besides, I'd be out of breath from the first jump.'

'Smoker?'

'Yep.'

'Oh, don't worry about it! Red and Lola smoke too, and they're two of my best girls.' Bebe waved away my excuse with her perfectly manicured hand, 'Come on, it'll be fun! And just think of how cute the outfit is and-'

'Incoming!' My eyes flashed up just in time to see a cigarette sailing towards my face. I caught it clumsily, almost crushing it between my fingers. I looked in the direction of where it had come from and saw Kenny push himself away from the wall with a cigarette of his own hanging from his mouth. He caught my eye and motioned his head towards the door, 'Well?'

'Sure.' I waited for Cartman to move and let him by, but he had no intention of budging and Kenny had no intention of making him. Instead, he promptly stepped up onto the table and expertly manoeuvred round the coffee cups despite protests from his friends.

'Kenny, ack! I told you to stop doing that!' Tweek yelped from behind the counter.

'Sorry, dude. Last time, I promise.'

'That's what you said last time.'

'Well I mean it this time.' Kenny shot him a devilish grin before heading out. I followed behind him eagerly and tried not to bounce too much when he handed me a lighter. It took me four tries to get it sparked and lit, but it was worth it when I sucked in the first draw of nicotine and felt it buzz through my veins. I hadn't realised how much I'd actually needed it until now.

I was just enjoying the way my muscles relaxed with every lungful of smoke when Kenny spoke, 'So how are you liking South Park so far?'

'It's... Different.' I chose my words carefully, trying to put across my exact feelings without sounding weird, 'Everyone's really nice.'

'Yeah, I like to think we're not a bad bunch.' He chuckled, and the look on his face made me think that he didn't quite believe his own claim. I raised an eyebrow, but I didn't question it. If I was gonna be sticking around, I would find out what they were really like sooner or later.

I opened my mouth to say something before the silence turned awkward, but my monster had reached forward just enough to keep my tongue from uttering anything else. _No_. _Let him speak_! There was a harsh undertone to her hiss and I growled inwardly.

'It's gonna be good to have another smoker around too.' Kenny mused out loud, absently blowing out a few smoke rings. The beast was fascinated with it, and I gave her a huge mental push back.

'I take it none of them ever picked up the habit?' I tried to create a few smoke rings of my own. I failed miserably. Melanie's brother had tried to teach me once, but there was too much too remember about the movement of your lips and the placing of your tongue.

'Nope. As Bebe said, Lola and Red picked it up, but they always sit in Lola's car because they're scared of getting caught.' He clucked his tongue against his teeth in a sound of disappointment, 'So it's just me and Craig. Token and Clyde only have when they're drinking.' He peered in through the glass window of the coffee shop and then dropped his voice a few octaves, 'Stan tried it once when we were out camping, but don't tell Wendy or Kyle.'

'Lips are sealed.' I mimed zipping my mouth shut and locking it before throwing the imaginary key over my shoulder.

'Good.' He looked down at me with a smile and my face cracked with one of my own. I couldn't remember why I had been so nervous about coming out tonight. Despite the small spats with my monster, everything had been going great. I would never have expected in a million years that the teenagers here were all as welcoming as Wendy had been.

During the rest of the night, they slowly coaxed me out of my shell, and I didn't even have to worry about the monster. She was loving the spotlight of being the town's newest fascination, and if it was keeping her calm and content, then I was just going to have to roll with it too.

I was actually sad when everyone called it a night. Wendy walked me to my new home again, and she promised to keep doing so until I was more than familiar with the streets.

'Hey, honey. Did you have a good time?' Aunt Holly came through to greet me when I came in the door, and I could only respond with a grin, too breathless from the high of being treated like an actual _human being_ for a change.

'It was great.' I was finally able to gush when she took me back through to the living room.

'I'll go make us some tea and you can tell me about it if you want?' She jerked her thumb back towards the kitchen and I nodded.

'That would be awesome.' I raked through my memories, but I couldn't recall my birth mother ever taking an interest in anything I'd ever done unless it was to do with school work or cult matters. Since I tried to stay as far away from one of them as possible, the only thing my mom really cared about was how well my grades were doing.

Now I was here and my Aunt was filling the role of a real mother perfectly. She understood and sympathised when I told her about the monster almost breaking loose, and she grinned and laughed with me when I told her about the guys, and she encouraged me to accept Bebe's invitation to join the cheer squad. By the time I decided to get some sleep, she almost had me convinced that it was a good idea too.

I danced around my room while I got changed into my pyjama ensemble of soft cotton shorts and an over-sized band t-shirt I'd stolen from my dad. I felt fresh and new and different and so _me_, all at the same time, and the only way I could think of expressing that was by prancing around like an idiot. When I flopped into bed and switched the light off, I could only stare at the ceiling with an excited grin splitting my face. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so alive, and I had only spent half of a day here. That itself said everything it needed to.


	5. Friends and Alibis

**_Hey guys! Ah it honestly makes me so happy to see that you guys are enjoying the rewrite so far! There _is_ a reason why the "monster" has a much more prominent role this time round, but you'll just have to bear with me to find out why :P . This is where things are gonna start picking up a little bit so... enjoy! x_**

* * *

_I fashioned my own cross,  
__Been crushed by it's weight,  
__There's no stronger message than turning your face._

_- Bones (Young Guns)_

* * *

Without an alarm set, I was roused from my sleep by the smell of bacon at about half past 7. My head was pounding, but I had been expecting that considering my dream last night. Once I was deep in the world of my subconscious, I could interact with _her_ properly, and every time I did, I would wake up feeling like someone had spent the night drilling a million tiny screws into my brain.

It hadn't happened in a few months. The last time was when we began planning out the mission to get away from Denver. And the times before that, it was after my murders where she spent hours taunting me for being so empathetic. Last night, it was to talk to me about the one with the smooth voice and the one with the green eyes. None of what she said had made any sense, and she'd refused to elaborate on her words when I asked her what it was about the boys that made her so excited and confused at the same time.

I threw on the same clothes I'd been wearing the night before and padded down the stairs, following the beautiful smell of Aunt Holly's cooking. She was making breakfast, and she was oblivious to my presence; continuing to sing to the songs on the radio until I cleared my throat.

'Bree! Good morning!' There was no trace of embarrassment on her face. Instead she just ushered me down into a seat and carried on as she was before I had arrived. She had a pretty voice, much better than my mom's. I was disappointed that I had inherited her lack of talent, but what can you do, right?

'Morning.' I said round a yawn, 'Hey, is the mall open on Sunday's?'

'It is. Why?'

'I have some money saved up, I was gonna go buy some new clothes and stuff.' I shrugged one shoulder lazily and then laid my cheek onto the cool, sleek surface of the table.

'Are you going with Wendy?'

'No. I actually didn't make anymore plans with them before they left last night.' I heard the hint of regret in my tone, but it was nowhere close to how I was feeling. I was still floating on the high of my new freedom despite the drumming in my temples.

'Oh, okay.' Holly paused for a moment, and then resumed spreading some toast, 'Can you wait until we get back from church?'

'Sure. Is it cool if I just stay here? I'm not into the whole church scene.' I lifted my head again and rubbed my face hard, trying to chase away the last pesky strands of sleep, 'Do you want coffee or something?'

'We won't force you to go somewhere that makes you uncomfortable, Bree. And I'll take coffee if you're offering.' She flashed me a grin over her shoulder and I returned it whole-heartedly. We chatted about general things over our drink, and then she went to wake Uncle Phil so he could join us for breakfast. He looked absolutely beat, but as soon as he started scoffing down his food, colour returned to his face and his grey eyes brightened. He was happy to know that I'd enjoyed myself last night and groaned at the mention of shopping today._ Just like my father should've done_.

They left for church almost straight after they'd finished eating. I told them I would clean up before I went for a shower, and Aunt Holly had unexpectedly kissed my cheek as a thank you. Once the door had closed behind them, I thought of her actions and began to well up. I'd always talked myself round to thinking that I really wasn't missing out on much back in Denver, but now I could see that I'd been missing out on plenty. And though it hurt knowing that I'd never get the past seventeen years of my life back, at least I now had a great group of people ready to compensate for it.

It felt weird being left alone in a house that was still brand new to me. When I came out of the shower, I just sat in the living room for a bit, thinking things over. I made sure to keep my train of thought solely on how amazing my first couple of days here had been. If I let myself think of anything else, it would only lead to feelings of guilt and leave me with a heavy heart.

When Aunt Holly and Uncle Phil got back after what seemed like hours, I jumped up in relief. I didn't think I could stand another moment sitting awkwardly on the sofa, unsure of what I should do.

'Hey!' I ran to greet them with a grin.

'Look, Holly, now we don't need to get a dog.' Uncle Phil nudged her arm and she swatted at him playfully. The shrill ring of the phone cut through whatever she was going to say next.

'I'll get it.' Phil sighed and disappeared into the living room, then I heard a gruff, 'Hello?' Seconds later, he poked his head back round into the hall and held the receiver out to Holly, 'For you.'

'Oh?' Holly laid her purse onto the table and reached her hand out for the phone. Phil passed it over to her and then pressed his car keys into the palm of my hand, 'Alright, kiddo. Go wait in the car. I'm away to change and then we'll get going. I want to be be back in time for the game later.'

'Men and their sports.' I muttered. He only laughed and mussed up my hair on his way by. Clutching his keys carefully, I pulled my scarf from the rack and went to wait outside. I clambered into the back of the black Mustang before counting the notes in my purse. Depending on where we went, I had enough for at least six new outfits and sets of underwear. Maybe if I had some left over, I would splash out on a phone or a make-up kit, but the latter wasn't priority. My parents had brought me up teaching me that I didn't need to paint my face all the time, and as much as I hated their beliefs, that was one that had just stuck.

The conversation seemed to be a forced kind of cheerful on the way to the mall. It made me wonder about what had happened in the space of time it took them to change and meet me in the car. I was curious, but I forgot all about it as soon as we hit the first store. Holly was genuinely a great person to shop with, and even the way Phil kept complaining about how long we spent looking at a pair of shoes was fun. According to television, this was a normal family shopping trip, so I was thoroughly enjoying myself - as lame as that sounded.

'You guys wanna grab some lunch?' Uncle Phil asked after leaving the fifth store. I glanced down at my bags and then to Aunt Holly. She looked across the mall floor, sighing longingly when her eyes landed on a pretty red dress being modelled by a mannequin in the window.

'You can get it later.' Phil took her hand into his and tugged her in the direction of the food court. I grinned and skipped after them, swinging my bags happily. It was a surprisingly difficult decision for where to go, but we eventually ended up getting a Subway. We sat at the food court discussing the rules for decorating my room, and I was getting really into the idea of having a space I could properly personalise when I saw a vaguely familiar face that forced _her_ from her slumber to grip my insides fearfully.

He was a bit on the overweight side, maybe a little more so than Cartman, and his nose was large and shiny, matching the sheen of his balding head. The hair he did have left was brown, and clashed horribly with the green diamond patterned sweater vest he was wearing. I had never seen him in anything but the black robes of the Cult. _He was in the fucking Cult. _He was in the fucking Cult and he was staring straight at me, a small frown knitted into his brow as if he was trying to determine whether or not I really was the person he thought I was.

'We have to go.' I whispered without taking my eyes from his. My monster gave me a half-assed push to do something about him, but she wasn't in the mood to fight with me for once. She just sat on the sidelines, grunting and cursing when I didn't take her murderous advice.

'Huh?' Holly blinked in confusion and I quickly crumpled the rest of my half eaten sandwich into the wrapper.

'We have to go _now_.' I repeated, firmer this time.

'Bree-'

'Don't!' I hissed, 'Can we please just go home?'

'What's wrong?' Phil pushed his chair back and stood to his full height. I automatically moved closer to him, shielding myself behind his tall frame.

'I'll explain outside.' I muttered weakly. I avoided my aunt's bewildered gaze and snatched my bags up off the floor. I was half tempted to just leave them and bolt to the car. New clothes seemed so very unimportant now.

I lengthened my strides leaving the food court, hell bent on putting as much distance between me and that man as possible. Fuck, what was his _name_? It wouldn't be much help to any of us if I couldn't remember.

_Richard. His name is Richard. _My monster's sickeningly silky voice sounded quiet and shaken as it drifted through my mind. It was a rare occasion when we got along, and it was usually only when she was scared that she cooperated. If something scared her, then it absolutely terrified me.

I was so intent on getting to the car that I didn't even realise there was someone in my path until I crashed into them.

'Ow! Shit, sorry!'

'Bree?' I pulled myself up short.

'Stan?' I shook my hair from my eyes and looked up at him, 'I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going! I was just- I was going- I have to-'

'Slow down!' He chuckled, 'It's fine, no worries. Everything alright?' His deep blue eyes studied my face and I took a breath, forcing myself to smooth it out into an easy, relaxed expression.

'Good, yeah. You?'

'Yeah, great. I'm just waiting for Kyle and Kenny. Wanna hang out for a bit?'

I would've loved to. I really would've loved nothing more than to spend time with these guys, but I couldn't go back into the mall. I had to go home and I had to stay there, 'I can't today. I have to make a start on decorating my new room.'

'Ah, cool. Well, how about you catch up with us tomorrow after school or something?' His sincere attempts to make me feel welcome and wanted made my heart throb in a way that was quickly becoming familiar to me.

'That would be nice.' I nodded and returned the grin he shot me. The mall doors opened and out came my Aunt and Uncle.

'See? I told you she hadn't run off.' Phil squeezed Holly's shoulder and she brushed him away with a small huff.

'You can't blame me for worrying.' She pursed her lips.

'Sorry.' I cringed.

'Right, I'll leave you to it. These guys are just coming now anyway.' Stan motioned down the car park and I followed the general direction of his hand to see Kenny and Kyle walking towards us. Unlike Stan, neither of them were wearing church clothes. I tilted my head and wondered why, but then _she_ sprung forward so fast, she almost fell straight over the guard I had up to stop her from meeting them properly. She was bouncing around exuberantly, and I knew I was going to have trouble keeping her in check if I hung around for any longer.

'I'll see you tomorrow then?' I said to Stan.

'Tomorrow.' He nodded, 'Have fun decorating.'

'I'll try!' I laughed and managed a small, awkward wave that was probably lost among the bags I was carrying. I started walking, trusting Holly and Phil to keep up this time. Thankfully, they did. We passed the two boys on our way to the car and they smiled at me in greeting. Kenny seemed to hesitate, but Kyle gave his arm a hard nudge and they carried on walking. My monster pined after them, wanting to get closer and figure them out. I sternly told her _no_.

I threw myself into the back seat when Uncle Phil unlocked the Mustang. I closed my eyes and blew out a huge breath.

'Spill.' Was the first thing Aunt Holly said to me once we were all buckled up.

'There was a member of the Cult in there. He looked right at me.' I answered wearily, eyes still squeezed shut.

A long pause, then, 'Who?'

'He's called Richard. Bald-ish. Sweater vest.'

'Adler.' She spat suddenly, 'I always knew there was something creepy about him.'

'Tell me about it.' Uncle Phil scoffed, 'But I would never have thought... A _Cult_?' The silence that followed was heavy and I thought one of them would've switched the radio on or something, but no. All I had to listen to was the swirl of different thoughts in my head. I was trying to separate them and go through them all individually when Aunt Holly cleared her throat.

'Your mom called, Bree.'

_That's it. That's why you were acting weird_, I thought. What I said though, was only a mere, 'Oh, really?'

'Yeah.' I saw her shift uncomfortably in the passenger seat, 'She wanted to know if you were here.'

'And?'

'And...' A deep breath, 'I told her you were.'

'_What_?' I jolted up to get thrown back by the sudden seat belt restriction.

'I had to!' Aunt Holly turned to me, her eyes pleading with me to understand, 'They were going to contact the police and report you missing. Did you really want to have that to worry about?'

I imagined what life would be like here if my face was plastered everywhere under the bright red "**MISSING**" caption on the bulletin boards of every city nationwide, or if my name was being read out on every news station in the country. It would be... It would suck. So hard.

'No.' I crossed my arms over my chest, '... Did she ask how I was?'

She shook her head slowly, 'I'm sorry, darling. She only asked if I had seen you. When I said yes, she asked if you were going back. I said no.'

'Thank you.' I nodded once and then leaned my forehead against the window. They hadn't called because they were worried about me. They weren't going to get the police involved because they thought I was in some sort of danger. They were panicking because I hadn't shown up for their ritual. I had messed up their plans, and that was the only reason they cared about where I had gone. And something told me that if they'd found me lying dead in a ditch, the only reason they would've cried is because they'd have disappointed Jim.

I could say that didn't hurt, but some lies are just too big to tell.

* * *

I had bent the truth a little when talking to Stan. I didn't really need to decorate my room. I was waiting until I had enough posters and such to start on that. So I'd unpacked my bag and sorted everything out into the closet and the chest of drawers by the TV instead. Then I'd had nothing to do. I watched a bit of the football with Uncle Phil until I got bored. I cleaned the kitchen for Aunt Holly, but that took me all of 15 minutes because it was already tidy enough. I'd resorted to just watching TV in my room until dinner.

The tension was high, but I knew it wasn't my fault. Well, technically it was. If I hadn't turned up, this wouldn't have happened. But my relatives anger was directed more at my parents and the fact that Richard Adler was part of the cult they were trying to keep me safe from. It made them nervous to think how many more people they knew could be spying for those bastards in Denver.

'Am I under house arrest now?' I asked when I was almost done.

'No.' Uncle Phil shook his head, 'We're going to the school tomorrow to sort things out.'

'Me and you?'

'Yup. Holly's back to work, so it's just us, kiddo.'

'Where do you work?' I was curious. She hadn't mentioned that she had a job.

'I'm a waitress at the Olive Garden. It's not much, but it's enough.' She shrugged. I thought about whether or not I should get something part-time here, even if it was just for a few hours after school or at the weekend. I didn't want to be a free-loader, not when they were being so nice as to take me in and deal with all the trouble that followed. I made a mental reminder to ask someone tomorrow if they knew of any jobs going around town I could apply for. I'd leave it as a surprise for Holly and Phil.

When dinner was finished and I'd helped clean up, I went back to my room and spent the rest of the night watching TV. I'd never gotten round to buying any books or notepads earlier, so my only form of recreation at the minute was crappy sitcoms and B-list movies.

My eyelids began to feel heavy at about eleven. I changed, switched the lights and crawled into bed, but I couldn't sleep. Everything else had shut down and I was ready to drift off, but my brain was being stubborn.

After an hour or two of tossing and turning and cursing quietly to myself, I climbed out of bed and padded over to my window seat. I opened the window to let some fresh air in and tucked my legs underneath me. I crossed my arms on the windowsill and rested my head on them, closing my eyes and letting the cool breeze blow away any pesky thoughts of Dark Lords and evil cults. But even that couldn't ease the empty feeling in my chest that had been tearing me apart since hearing about my parents.

I knew they didn't care. I'd known for as long as I was able to string a coherent sentence together. Dad had never protected me from the monsters under my bed and Mom had never sang me to sleep when I was ill. I'd made my own Halloween costumes when I was old enough to use glue and scissors safely and I'd taught myself the difference between right and wrong. If it had been up to them, I would've forever been the obedient, evil bitch they'd always wanted. No, I would've been the _Cult's_ obedient, evil bitch that _they _had always wanted.

A strange whooshing sound made me open my eyes and I looked towards the trees outside, thinking I would see an owl or something along those lines. But when I heard the soft shuffling come from the porch roof, my blood stilled in fear.

Swallowing hard, I leaned forward and poked my head outside for a proper look. A scream tore up my throat when I saw a hunched figure edging closer to my window, but I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle the sound. I scrambled back, falling from the seat and thumping against the floor. My hip grazed the carpet roughly, and a small hiss escaped from between my teeth, but I didn't stop moving until I had managed to reach the nearest light source, which was the lamp on top of the chest of drawers. I flipped it on and directed the glow towards the window.

'I'm not here to hurt you.' Came a deep, gravelly voice. It sent shivers straight down to the base of my spine and I gripped the lamp harder when he stood onto the windowsill so I could see him properly.

'M-Mysterion?' It came out as a breathy whisper. He never replied. He just held one gloved hand up to shield his eyes from the beam of light I was shining on him. I lowered it and gave him the chance to get his vision back while I looked him up and down.

His tight-fitting base suit was a light lavender colour and there was a bright green "M" emblazoned across his chest. Around his waist - where the suit was a darker shade of lavender -, there was a black, snazzy looking utility belt which held goodness knows what, and his long, deep purple cape wrapped round his neck and doubled as a large hood to hide his hair. He stepped down onto my window seat and the green question mark jutting out of the head of the hood bounced slightly on it's spring.

'Wh-wh-wh-' I clamped down on my tongue for a few seconds. My heart was pounding hard and fast in my chest, and the shot of fear that had fizzed through my veins woke _her_ up, which really wasn't going to help this situation at all. I couldn't have her bursting out to "help against the threat" when the town superhero was the one who had given me the fright.

Mysterion waited patiently for me to calm down and regain a grasp on myself. When I finally did, I pushed my hair back off my face and breathed out long and slow.

'What the fuck are you doing here?'


	6. Freak Like Me

_Sudden life and monsters by my side,  
__Well, can't you see how it looked through my eyes?_

_- Frankenstein + The Bride (Blood On The Dance Floor)_

* * *

I stayed frozen in my spot curled against the drawers, lamp clutched tightly in my hands as I waited for Mysterion to answer my question. He never did. Instead, he moved silently until he was standing in the middle of my room. I watched him with wide eyes, ready to swing for him if he so much as breathed wrong. Two more quick strides and he was towering over me. I pushed myself up into a more respectable sitting position at the same time he kneeled to my level.

'There's something... _wrong _about you. Something... _dark_.' His voice was almost a growl and honestly, I would be lying if I said it wasn't impressive, as fake as it was.

'Why would you think that?' I whispered.

'I can feel it.' His head tilted and I saw a flash of brilliant blue behind his black half mask, 'What's your name?'

'Bree.'

'Why are you here, Bree?'

I tilted my own head in the general direction of Aunt and Uncle's room, 'Staying with relatives until shit blows over at home.' He rocked back onto the heels of his battered brown boots and stared me down. His eyes were intense and the second I felt the need to look away, _she _felt the need to spring forward. Mysterion was intimidating, and that was plenty reason for her to come out and defend herself, but there was something else about him, something that was foreign, yet familiar all the same. I just couldn't put my finger on it, but as long as it drew _her_ out, it was bad news.

'Get back.' I made a shooing motion with my hands. He stayed where he was and his disobedience to a direct command made her hackles raise to the point where I almost curled my lips back over my teeth in sync with her, 'Get _back_!' I shoved at his shoulder as hard as I could, keeping my head lowered from his line of sight.

He took the hint the second time and eased up to give me space. I took a few deep breaths to try and calm the beast down, but she made it clear to me that she wasn't going anywhere as long as he was here. I could feel her pacing, angry at me for keeping her caged. But there was something else niggling at her, and by God, did she make sure I felt it too. It was like a desperate, burning need in the bottom of my gut, and I had no idea what to do about it.

'Why are you _really _here?' Mysterion asked.

'I told you-'

'I don't believe you.'

An awkward silence fell between us and I was suddenly very aware of the entire situation. Clearing my throat quietly, I got back to my feet and wrapped my arms around myself after laying the lamp back down onto the dresser.

Personally, I didn't feel like this boy posed any real threat. It was his job to protect this town, and if someone new showed up who was "wrong" and "dark", then of course he was going to be checking it out. What I had to do now was prove to him that I wasn't here to give him or anybody else a hard time. And the only way to do that was by being honest.

My lips twisted up into a weak smile, 'I've heard stories about you, Immortal. _That's_ why I'm here. They needed me to stop you and I got scared, so I ran.'

'What did you call me?' Mysterion's breath hitched.

'Immortal... You're the one who won't stay dead, right?'

'How do you know that?' His jaw clenched and any hint of shock was now erased, now replaced by a wary determination.

'Because you're just like me.'

'You're an immortal?' From the corner of my eye, I saw him take a tiny step back; his fingers twitching towards his belt.

'Much worse.' I sighed and held my hands up when I turned to face him properly, 'Whatever you think I'm away to do, I can promise you I won't. I just want to talk.' He held the same tense stance, body coiled and ready to jump if I stepped one toe out of line. I kept my hands up as I moved towards my bed. I plucked my hoody from the bed post, slipped it on and zipped it up before circling him and moving to sit on the window seat, 'How much do you know about the Cult of Cthulhu?'

'Enough.' His hands balled up into fists. His suit was tight enough for me to see the way his muscles bulged when he did so. Everything about him now radiated anger, and as a chill settled over my skin, I decided that maybe he really _was_ capable of wiping out an entire group of psychopaths.

'You threatened them, didn't you?'

'Let's start with you.' My question fell on deaf ears, 'How much do _you_ know about the Cult?'

'I grew up around it. I could probably tell you everything you want to know about what you are.'

He paused, and that's when I knew I had finally caught all of his interest. I waited for him to ask me to tell him all about the curse, but when he spoke again, it was like I had never even mentioned it, 'You said they needed you to stop me.'

'Yeah, they had this big ritual planned. I don't know what they were going to do because they never told me how it was going to work. They just told me that it would put an end to you, basically.'

'Impossible.' He rasped.

'Why?'

'Only an immortal can kill another immortal.' He rubbed at his chin and began to pace.

'What? How do you-?' I frowned. Even _I_ didn't know that.

'Irrelevant.' He cut my sentence off with a wave of his hand, 'What were they planning?' He muttered to himself.

I bent my head and began picking at the zip of my hoody, engrossing myself in the way my nails clicked against the cool metal teeth. I heard him trying to process what was going on by asking himself too many questions, some of which weren't even incoherent through his growls. I was just going to leave him to it, not wanting to get in the way and rile up my monster again. She was just watching, curiosity now getting the better of her pigheadedness.

'If you're not an immortal... What are you?' Mysterion stopped his pacing and snapped me back to attention.

'Promise not to turn me in?' I chewed my lip. I had the feeling that if I could see his entire face, both of his eyebrows would be raised, but his mouth and the small part of his nose that I could see gave absolutely nothing away. I took a deep breath, 'They call me an Angel of Death. I kill with a kiss.'

'A what? You... What?'

'When I kiss someone... They die. I- I killed three people before my parents told me about it.'

'At least they told you. Mine didn't tell me shit.' He sounded bitter. I didn't blame him. If his parents hadn't told him anything, then he'd been dealing with his immortality alone. He'd found out he was cursed alone. And nobody like us deserved to be alone.

'You're a Child of Cthulhu,' I started gently, 'You were cursed when you were only a few months old. Your parents never went back to the meetings after that. Jim blames them for the way you turned out. They're scared of you, Mysterion. You're their Frankenstein.'

It took him a moment, then one corner of his mouth lifted into a tight half-smile, 'Cool way of putting it.'

'Thank you.' I bowed my head dramatically, and my monster purred in satisfaction at the compliment, even if it wasn't directed at her.

'Can you do me a favour?'

'I can.'

'I want you to look into this ritual. Find out as much as you can, and I'll check in with you in a few days. If we're going to find out what's going on then we need to start there.' He adjusted his hood and began striding over to me. _She_ peeled back her lips and growled a warning, so I stayed frozen so not to aggravate her further.

But he didn't even break his pace as he jumped lithely up onto the window seat and stepped round me onto the windowsill. His cloak brushed the top of my head and I twisted to watch him go. He paused on the roof and turned back to look at me.

'I'm glad you're here, Bree. This whole curse thing gets a bit much when you can't talk to anyone.'

I smiled, 'Yeah, tell me about it.' He swished his cape and then he was gone. I closed the window and got to my feet, unable to wipe the grin from my face. So I had just met Mysterion, the infamous South Park superhero. And I'm pretty sure I was now working with said hero in taking down the Cult that had ruined our lives. As first meetings went with two of natures greatest abominations... I guess it could've gone worse.

I checked the clock. It was almost half past one and I had no idea what time I had to get up tomorrow. I wanted to get started on researching as soon as I could, and I wasn't sure if I would be able to settle properly tonight until I'd sated my curiosity.

'Screw it.' I whispered. Quietly, I crept from my room and down the stairs to the living room. Aunt Holly's laptop was charging behind the sofa. I squeezed myself in next to it and flipped it open. I was relieved to see that there wasn't a password and it took me only seconds to pull up a webpage.

_Now what_? I thought to myself. I had no idea what to type in to get the result I wanted. I tried Cult of Cthulhu and pressed search. The first link that came up was to a website dedicated to the religion. I spent a good ten minutes scowering the site, but I came up blank. I backed up a step and added ritual into the search bar at the end. And so it went, site after site, until my eyes became scratchy and my back was stiff from my cramped position.

'One more try.' I yawned. I squinted blearily at the screen, skimming through the text half-heartedly. And then a word jumped at me, a word that slammed a shard of ice right through my stomach. **Sacrifice**. I tugged the laptop closer and rubbed my eyes quickly, going back to the start of the section.

"_To invoke the Dark Lord's essence, you will need three teaspoons of blood root, a black candle and a half gram of willow. **WARNING:** Invoking the Great One has been known to hold numerous side effects including temporary visual impairment and self-hexing. For a full list of side-effects click here. For the full ritual click __here__! _  
_To summon the Dark Lord himself, you will need the blood of a Child, a bag of vervain, a quarter of boneset and wormwood. __**WARNING**__: Sacrifice to the Great One should only be made under the most extreme circumstances and has never been proven to have been a success. If you still wish to proceed, click __here__!"_

'No.' I closed the laptop quickly, 'No. That's not right. No, no, no...' Nausea rolled in my stomach and tears stung the back of my eyes, 'They wouldn't do that. They wouldn't... They wouldn't...' I hadn't read it correctly. I was taking it out of context. I was half asleep. I was hallucinating. There was no way a stupid spell on some wacked up site was going to pull Cthulhu up from his sunken city of R'lyeh. There was no way they would even _think _about it... Was there?

_Stop being such an ignorant bitch! _My monster hissed. I shook my head in defiance and my stomach rolled again. Jim was a dick, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to think that a ritual he found on the Internet would actually work... Would he? I mean, they weren't going to try it on a whim and hope for the best, right? My parents wouldn't have agreed to put me at risk like that... _Would they_?!

I heaved and scrambled from my nook behind the sofa. I sprinted up the stairs and threw the bathroom door open without worrying about turning the light on. I emptied my dinner into the toilet, gripping the basin just for something to ground me.

Mysterion's words from earlier swirled in the forefront of my mind, "Only an immortal can kill another immortal." Cthulhu, as a Dark Lord, was immortal. If the Cult could summon him, he could do what they couldn't. Kill Mysterion.

Another heave and another spout of vomit. Tears leaked from my eyes and I let myself cry as I flushed the toilet and closed the lid. I wiped my mouth with a piece of tissue paper and splashed my face with cold water, thinking that would pull me together again. But as soon as I pressed the towel to my face to dry it, my knees gave out again and I curled in on myself. I kept the towel over my face and I sobbed until my throat was raw and my eyes felt rusty.

I would double-check in the morning. But I knew deep down that we had our answer. I just didn't want to believe it.

* * *

'You okay, kiddo?'

'I'm fine.' I winced at how hollow my voice sounded.

'Did you even sleep last night?' Uncle Phil glanced over at me from the drivers seat. I nodded, then changed my mind and shook my head. There was no point in lying to him. It was painfully obvious by the deep, dark circles underscoring my eyes. They stuck out prominently on my unusually pale face.

'What kept you up?'

'I uh...' A part of me didn't want to tell him the truth. But the other part thought he had the right to be kept informed. He knew about the curse and he knew about how messed up the Cult was. But did he really want to know what I had discovered? It was enough to have anybody running for the fucking hills.

'Bree?'

'Sorry.' I propped my head up with one hand, 'I found out more about the ritual they wanted me to do.'

'Right...' He drew it out slowly, testing the waters. A lump pushed its way into my throat. It took me a few tries to swallow it down.

'It was a blood ritual. A sacrifice to summon Cthulhu.'

'_What_?' He jerked the steering wheel and directed his car into the first available space he saw. The car behind him honked angrily on the way by, but he didn't even notice. He had twisted fully in his seat to face me, 'Are you sure?'

'No. I mean yes- No- I don't know.' I couldn't even look him in the eye. I felt... Guilty. He didn't need this kind of thing to worry about. Fuck, nobody did. I envied the ones who lived a happy, content life. The only thing they cared about was getting home in time to feed their kids or getting that promotion at work. They didn't have to think about this world, the one where the things that went bump in the night were very real and danger lurked in every shadow.

'We could have them arrested for that.' Uncle Phil said with a forced sort of calm.

'On what proof? The word of a run-away?'

'Jim's been done for cult activity before-'

'He's smarter about it now, Uncle Phil. Trust me, it wouldn't even be worth our time going to the authorities.'

'Well, we have to do something!' He exclaimed.

'I will!'

'You're not dealing with this by yourself, Bree-'

'I'm not.' I shoved my hood down so he could see me properly. He could now decide for himself if I was lying or not, 'I spoke to Mysterion last night. He's helping me. Wait, no, _I'm_ helping _him_.' Phil stared at me for a long while, grey eyes swimming with anger and frustration.

'Mysterion?'

'Yeah. He's immortal. Jim cursed him too.' I said, 'Didn't Aunt Holly tell you?'

'No...'

'It was her that told me!' Despite everything, I laughed. The mood lightened by a fraction and I played on it to change the subject. I squeezed his arm, 'We've got this, okay? I'll be fine. It was just a pretty big shock when I found out. I knew my parents didn't really like me, but fucking hell.' I laughed again. It sounded more pitiful this time and I hated myself for it.

'Come here, you.' Uncle Phil sighed and stretched over to give me an awkward hug. The gear stick jabbed into the bottom of my ribs and I scrunched my face up against the pain, but I endured it for the sorely needed comfort I was receiving, 'I know it's gonna be tough, but just start looking forward, okay? New school, new friends-'

'New family.' I cut in. He flashed me a small smile and then pulled back to get himself seated comfortably again.

'And a new family.' He agreed.


	7. Backbone

**_Sorry it's taken so long to get this one uploaded! I've been having problems with my laptop and I only got it working again last night.  
Thanks for the reviews and to everyone who's followed and favourited. I'm so glad you're all enjoying this so far!  
Also, I just _had_ to add a bit of Creek in here. They're such a great pairing and I got the muse for it from a post I saw on Tumblr, so if the user who posted it is reading this, then thanks!  
Anyway, enjoy! x_**

* * *

_It's so convenient to lose the truth when it's laughing in your face._

_- Reflections (We Are The In Crowd)_

* * *

South Park High didn't look like anything special, but knowing that this was the next chapter in my new life that was proving to be nothing but wonderful was enough to have me shivering in excitement.

'Why yellow?' I asked Uncle Phil as we ascended the steps to the main doors.

'They didn't want it to look too intimidating for the freshmen, so they painted it the same colour as the elementary school a few blocks down. Makes them feel more at home or something stupid like that.'

'Cool, I think?' He held the door open for me and I eagerly hopped inside. I stopped to take in my surroundings. The plain white walls were decorated with bright posters advertising sports matches and leaflets for what seemed to be every extra-curricular activity available. My gaze zeroed in on the bright red one inviting people along to a book club, but before I could read it properly, Uncle Phil tugged at my hoody and pulled me towards the main registration desk.

'Phil! What brings you here?' The elderly receptionist beamed when she saw my Uncle.

'I'm actually here to enroll my niece, Bree. There's some uh, minor complications, but I ran into Regan on Saturday night and he said he could smooth it all out for us.'

'That's not a problem! I'll just check that he's not in a meeting and I'll get him through to talk to you.'

'Thanks, Margaret.' Uncle Phil flashed her a brilliant grin and nudged me towards the hard, plastic chairs that were lined up against the wall.

'Who's Regan?' I whispered when we sat down.

'You have to call him Mr O'Donell. He's your new principal.'

'You're on first name basis with my head teacher?' My eyebrows jumped and he nodded. A proud smile played on his lips and he crossed his arms over his chest.

'He came into Skeeter's at the weekend and I mentioned that you were wanting to start here, but weren't sure how things would work because of your situation.' My eyes widened in alarm and he immediately back-pedalled, 'Don't worry, I gave him the cover story!'

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, the bell rang loudly above us to signal a change in classes. As soon as the students began piling out into the hall, I wished we'd been offered a seat in the office to wait. The sea of unfamiliar faces that looked me up and down as they passed was daunting. I would've been happy to grit my teeth and grin through it, but the old stirring in my chest suggested that it wouldn't be that easy.

For one fleeting, insane moment I considered letting her out. My self-consciousness was leading me to believe that I looked as crappy as I felt, and I didn't want people to spread word about how the new girl was the spitting image of a drug addict.

I was almost at the "fuck it" stage when a deep voice with a pretty Irish lilt to it took my attention instead, 'Phil! Good to see you again so soon. I take it this is Bree?'

Striding towards us was a tall man in a crisp grey suit. His hair was sleeked back in a way that highlighted the silver strands lacing the original dark mahogany colour. Accompanied with the lines round his eyes, I guessed he was maybe late 40's-early 50's.

'Yup, that's me.' I smiled and he extended his hand for me to shake.

'Nice to meet you. I'm Mr O'Donell. Your uncle's told me a lot about you.'

'All good I hope.'

'Of course.' Mr O'Donell chuckled, 'How about we go sort something out for you then?'

I jumped to my feet enthusiastically, 'That would be awesome.'

* * *

After spending almost an hour at the school, I had a class schedule sorted and was ready to start the very next day. I was a bit nervous about starting so soon, but Mr O'Donell assured me that it would be okay and that he would handle the rest.

Uncle Phil had taken me to the Olive Garden for lunch so I could tell Holly about how the meeting had gone, and after spending a while around her bubbly, positive attitude, I was feeling at least ten times better about how things were playing out. We'd decided to leave out what we discussed this morning about the cult and my parents and the ritual. It was a conversation to be had in the privacy of our own home in our own time.

In fact, I spent the rest of my afternoon at the restaurant. If I left my Aunt's happy little bubble to go home with Uncle Phil, I knew that I'd lose my backbone for going to meet my... my new friends after school was out. It felt weird to even think about, let alone say. _My new friends_. Weird, but good. Scary, but exciting.

At about three, I scraped back my chair and stretched, almost elbowing some poor old lady in the face when I did so. I cringed and muttered an apology, but to my surprise, she brushed it off with a smile and a few kind words.

'Is everyone here always so nice?' I asked Aunt Holly when she came over to make sure I knew where I was going.

'Not always, I'm afraid. There's always going to be a bad bunch in any town you're in, but for the most part, I'd like to think we're a pretty friendly place.' She smiled and laid a hand on my back, 'You're sure you won't get lost?'

'I'm sure. Leave here, turn right, then left when I see a postbox, follow that road, turn right again, pass the mall, then go right again and keep walking 'til I see it.'

'Spot on. Will you be home for dinner?'

'I uh, I don't know.'

'I'll plate some for you just in case you're not.' Holly smiled again, 'Go and have fun and we'll see you when you get home.'

'Thanks.' I grinned and squeezed her arm in thanks before I zipped up my jacket and finally left the Olive Garden. As soon as I was away from my Aunt's calming presence, my nerves kicked in big time. I was going to look like such a loser creeping around outside the school. What if Wendy wasn't with them? What was I going to say? How was I going to act?

It took me about twenty minutes to get there, and I was one more negative thought away from throwing up the ball of knots in my stomach. When I arrived, students were already beginning to pour out into the grounds. Most of them were in their respective cliques or lingering by the main doors for their friends. Like earlier, it made me feel ridiculously self-conscious. I perched on the wall across from the high school and flipped my hood up, trying to kid myself into thinking it was because I was cold and needed to keep the chill out.

'Is that Bree?' A wave of relief crashed through me when I heard Wendy's voice. I lifted my eyes and saw her rushing through the throng of teenagers, clutching her pink beret to her head to keep it from falling off in her haste.

'Hey.' I greeted her.

'What are you doing here?'

'I ran into Stan yesterday and he asked if I wanted to hang out after school,' I shrugged and searched the crowd for anymore familiar faces. When I looked back to Wendy, her eyes were narrowed slightly and for the first time since meeting this girl, _she_ reacted badly to her presence. I fidgeted uncomfortably on the stone wall.

She brushed her bangs off her face with a small sniff, 'Don't go getting any wrong ideas about him, okay?'

'Who, Stan?' I yelped. Wendy nodded. I couldn't help but feel slightly affronted. Sure, he wasn't bad looking, but I hadn't even _thought _about him like that. In fact, I hadn't thought about hooking up with any guy ever since my third and last date. It was better for me to steer as far away from any sort of romance as I possibly could. All I really had now was a kind of passing appreciation for their attractiveness; I'd resigned myself to the fact that I couldn't have them.

'Wendy, I can promise you right now that I'm not like that.' I assured her, 'You _really_ don't have to worry about me.' _She_ cared to disagree and snorted in disgust when Wendy's features softened back into a warm, friendly expression. Seconds later, Stan joined us with Kyle and Cartman in tow. I watched Stan carefully and noticed the way his deep blue eyes lit up when they landed on Wendy; how he immediately made a bee-line to kiss her cheek and curl an arm round her shoulder. I smiled gently. It was so obvious that he loved her with everything he had and more. She had no reason to be jealous.

'Long time no see.' Kyle joked when he realised I was there.

'I know, right?' I wanted to slap a palm to my face for retorting with something so lame. Not for the first time, I wished I could be one of those cute little socialites who always had perfect wit and smart one-line comebacks.

'So what's the plan?' Thankfully, nobody seemed to mind, and Kyle quickly moved on.

'No idea,' Stan nudged Cartman's shoulder, 'Didn't your mom buy you the new Band Hero game today?'

'Maybe.' He shrugged nonchalantly.

Kyle scowled, 'Dude, don't be a dick. You used to play ours _all_ the time.'

'Not _all _the time!'

'Okay, _most_ of the time.'

They began bickering about how much time Cartman had spent playing other people's Xbox games and I leaned closer to Wendy, 'Is it always like this?'

She thought for a moment and then nodded, 'You get used to it.' By the way her and Stan just tuned it out, I didn't doubt that statement for a minute. So while those two were busy being lovey-dovey and Cartman and Kyle were squabbling, I began to feel out of the loop again. Luckily, I didn't have time to reach the really uncomfortable stage of awkwardness.

'Hey, Bree's here!' There was no need for me to look up. I knew exactly who it was as soon as his voice hit my ears.

'Kenny, do you wanna go play the new Band Hero at Cartman's?' Kyle twisted to ask his friend.

'Sure. Hey, catch.' Like the other night, a cigarette came flying in my direction. This time, I let it land in my lap instead of trying to catch it again.

'Would it kill you to just hand it to me?' I glanced up with a grin and realised Kenny wasn't alone. Next to him was a tall boy with a blue chullo hat and ripped faded jeans similar to that of Kenny's. Black hair flopped down over his hooded blue eyes and he wore a completely dead-pan expression.

Kenny mumbled something that sounded like 'That would be a new one.' My eyebrows pulled together at the statement, and I checked to see if anybody else had heard the same thing I had. None of them even batted an eye, so I brushed it off as picking it up wrong and it instantly slipped my mind.

'Can I borrow a-' I hadn't even finished my sentence when Chullo extended his hand and offered me a small white lighter, 'Thanks.' I went to smile, but decided against it when he pinned me with a dangerously blank stare. I silently thanked the stars that I managed to get it lit first try and handed it back to him quickly.

'This is Craig, by the way.' Stan said.

'Hi.' I tried for another small smile and made sure I held it this time. I thought I saw the corner of his mouth tilt up in a lazy attempt to return it when he nodded his head in acknowledgement.

'So... Cartman's?' Kyle suggested.

'Ay!'

'Shut up, asshole, you're outnumbered.' I slid from the wall and ducked my head so they didn't see my smirk. Wendy was right. I was already beginning to grow accustomed to their arguing. It was... It was soothing to an extent.

'You guys coming?' Kenny asked Craig. I frowned again and that's when I noticed that it hadn't just been him that Kenny had come out with. Tweek had been standing behind them silently the entire time, his wide eyes darting around nervously. Craig shifted by an inch and Tweek's hand shot up to grab the back of his blue hooded jacket, almost as if he was making sure that he wouldn't move too far away from him. Craig glanced behind him, but didn't brush him off or tell him to let go. In fact, he seemed to be incredibly used to it.

'Nah, we're heading to Token's. Him and Clyde want to _study_.' I was surprised by how nasally and monotonous Craig sounded, but he really suited it, in a weird way.

At the word "study", Kenny scrunched his nose, 'You have fun with that, I guess.'

'I won't. Catch you later, McCormick. See you guys.'

'Bye, Craig!' The small group chorused. The raven haired teen just raised his middle finger and flipped us off before muttering something to Tweek and then walking away in the opposite direction from us.

I lagged behind the entire way to Cartman's house. I could've been doing with another cup of coffee to keep me going, but by the sounds of it, we weren't going anywhere near Main Street, and I got the impression that Cartman wasn't the kind of person to offer his guests refreshments.

'You okay?' Kyle dropped back to match his pace with mine.

'Yeah, fine.' My eyes slid up to meet his. He wasn't quite as tall as Craig, but like Kenny and Stan, he was still at least a head and a bit bigger than I was.

'You look tired.'

'Lack of caffeine.' I managed a weak laugh. For fear of being reminded about why I was so tired and then getting myself worked up in front of this lot, I changed the subject by blurting out the first thing that came to mind, 'Hey, are Craig and Tweek like... You know... Are they like...'

'Together?'

'Yeah.'

Kyle chuckled, 'They might as well be.' I arched a brow in question and he wet his lips before continuing, 'Nobody messes with Craig, and you've seen how Tweek is. If he sticks close to Craig then nobody messes with him either. I think it helps with the whole anxiety thing.'

'That's kinda cute.' I admitted sheepishly.

'Yeah. So... Uh, do you know when you're starting school yet?' Kyle tried his best to keep up a string of conversation until we reached Cartman's, but I couldn't help feeling like he was nervous somehow. No, not nervous... Wary. It felt like he was wary.

* * *

I was home in time for dinner after all. Kyle got a phone call from his mom, Wendy said she was tired, Stan offered to walk her home, Kenny rolled with it and I just didn't want to be stuck with the one who was nowhere near as welcoming as everyone else. Having said goodbye to Cartman, Kenny kicked up a fuss about Kyle choosing to walk to school that morning so he couldn't catch a ride home. That had lasted all of two seconds. The remaining three boys weren't as argumentative when Cartman was removed from the equation.

We'd dropped Wendy off first, and I'd almost had a panic attack there and then at being left with the guys alone, even if it was only for the few minutes it took to get to mine. But as I was beginning to learn, I had nothing to worry about. They were laid-back and easy-going and they made sure to get one genuine grin out of me before they left me at the end of the path.

'Aunt Holly?' I called out when I closed the door behind me.

'Through here!' She trilled in response. Instantly, a warm feeling of comfort spread through my veins. This house was quickly becoming a safe haven - a place where I didn't have to worry about slipping up and showing my true colours; where I didn't have to watch my words and deal with my problems alone.

I skipped into the kitchen to see her and Uncle Phil already sitting at the table. She motioned her fork towards the microwave, 'I've just put it in. It should still be warm.' I thanked her and retrieved my own plate of lasagne before pulling out a seat and getting myself comfortable.

Uncle Phil's eyes flickered to mine and his eyebrows jumped once at the same time he tilted his head towards Holly, silently urging me to tell her what I had discovered. My stomach twisted and I lost my appetite at the thought, but I forced myself to eat. I'd been doing well with keeping the whole ritual thing at the back of my mind, and I really didn't want to bring it up over dinner.

He kicked my leg under the table when we were almost done. I sighed and scooped one more forkful into my mouth, then delicately approached the subject with a light, 'So, Aunt Holly...' She kept a neutral expression on her face the entire time, not even flinching when I reached the worst of it. It was unnerving and I didn't know what I would've rather preferred. This, or gasps of horror and sounds of sympathy.

'... Say something.' I whispered after a couple minutes of silence.

'Go to your room.' She kept her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

'What?'

'Just go to your room, please, honey.' Her lips were pulled into a firm line, and there was nothing sweet about the endearment she'd used.

'Get going, kiddo.' Uncle Phil was more relaxed about it, and I laid my plate in the sink before doing as I was told. I stopped in the door way and looked back at them both in turn.

'I'm sorry.' I bit my lip and left them in peace. I hadn't wanted to bring all of this baggage with me. I'd wanted to leave that all behind in Denver. I'd wanted to start fresh without worrying about cults and curses and psychopaths, but it was starting to look like no matter where I ran to, no matter how far, I was never going to be able to get away from it.

For the next hour, I had to listen to my Aunt scream and shout downstairs. I felt bad for bringing out that side in her, and I felt bad for my Uncle having to suffer it. Tears welled in my eyes and I buried my head beneath my pillow, willing it to block out everything but the sound of my own blood thundering in my ears.

A quiet knock on the window had me jerking up and sending the pillow flying into the middle of the floor. Heart hammering, I pushed my hair from my face and tentatively looked round. Mysterion was standing on the porch roof with his fist raised to knock again. Quietly, I crept over and opened it just enough so that I could talk to him and no more.

'Is now a bad time?' He asked in that rasping voice of his.

'Uh, yeah, kinda.' I listened hard. I could still hear them arguing. Mom's name was cropping up more and more, and it made me want to hurl again.

'I'll come back when I'm done with patrols.' He stepped away from the window and before I could say anything else, he had dropped off the side of the porch. I sighed and laid my head against the wall, staring out into the night where his cloak had been blowing just moments before.

'Bye.' I whispered to the air. A heavy feeling pulled at my heart and I wished I'd lied and told him it was the perfect time to come by. I wanted to talk about this with someone who wouldn't fly off the handle. He could deal with it normally and we could help each other through it. Mysterion was strong, and it was that exact strength that I needed to keep me going right now.


	8. Seventeen Ain't So Sweet

_**Hello! So the only excuse I have for this chapter being latchy is that I bought the new Thief game. I was more than a little addicted *nervous cough* but I've completed it now and I'm back to my writing! So here you go and I hope you enjoy :) x**  
_

* * *

_Shifting your weight to throw off the pain,_  
_Well, you can ignore it,_  
_But only for so long._

_- Careful (Paramore)_

* * *

There was only one thought on my mind when my alarm yanked me out of sleep in the morning, and that was a lavender clad superhero with pretty blue eyes. I'd grown drowsy while waiting for Mysterion to come back so I'd gotten into an uncomfortable position on my bed to watch some TV in a last-ditch effort to keep myself awake for him. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on my first day of school here still dressed in the clothes I'd been wearing the night before, feeling like the ultimate bitch for crashing before he came back. There were much better ways to start a day. And it would just be my luck that it wasn't going to get any better.

I stumbled into the shower and I stumbled out just as sluggishly. I put my t-shirt on backwards, and then put my arm through the wrong hole when trying again. I spilt the milk meant for my cereal all over the kitchen table. I head-butted the wall when bending to put my shoes on. I got my hair stuck in the door of the car. It wasn't even 9 in the morning and I was ready to burst into tears.

It didn't help that the atmosphere in the car was tense. Aunt Holly was still stewing over what I'd told her last night. She'd already assured me that she wasn't angry at me personally and repeated multiple times that it wasn't my fault, but it barely shrunk the big ball of guilt stuck in my chest. Of _course_ it was my fault. She could've still had her amazing little apple-pie life if I hadn't crashed right in and destroyed it with the trouble that seemed to linger around my very existence.

'I'm nervous.' I admitted in a quiet voice when we pulled into the car park.

'Why?' Aunt Holly's thin brows pulled together.

'Because of the people.' Yes, I knew Wendy, Bebe and the guys, but it was trying to find them through everyone else that was going to be the problem. My monster had been furious enough about being jostled in the corridors of my old school by people she was already familiar with. I didn't want to think about how hard this was going to be in a new place where she felt like she had to show herself personally and lay down her authority for them to all see.

'You'll be fine, Bree.' Her hand came to rest on my arm and she squeezed it once. I looked over at her and her awful stony-faced mask slipped, 'They're gonna love you, I promise.'

'Pinky swear?' I took one of my gloves off with my teeth and held my pinky up. Without hesitation, she hooked hers round mine and looked me dead in the eye.

'I swear.'

'You know that if I come home sad, I get to cut that off right?'

'Hurry up and leave already.' She laughed and shoved at my shoulder. I grinned over at my Aunt and immediately drew her up in a mental comparison with my birth mother. I imagined having the same conversation with her. She would be serious; she wouldn't show me any physical form of support and her tone would be clipped when she told my to leave. With Aunt Holly, there was no hint of malice in her teasing. It was all light and playful and raised my spirit in seconds.

'I'm probably gonna walk home if I can find Wendy. That alright?' I said as I opened the door and stepped one foot out onto the ground.

'Yeah, it's fine. Right, well, have a nice day and I'll see you later!' She waved when I closed the door and waited until I was nearing the main steps before pulling away. I took a breath and gripped the strap of my bag tighter. I took another moment to steel myself and exhaled slowly when I walked through the door and into a midst of young strangers that all took a double take upon realising that I wasn't a regular face in these halls.

I clenched my jaw and checked for my locker number in the corner of the class schedule I'd received yesterday. My heart dropped heavily into the pit of my stomach. _I had no idea where I was going_. Not wanting to seem like a dork, I turned to my left, started walking and simply hoped for the best. I spotted a row of lockers and crossed my fingers subtly. Here goes noth-

_STOP_! My monster had been docile all morning, so when she woke up snarling, I actually came to a jolting halt in the middle of the corridor. A couple of people slammed into me and muttered a few select words under their breath, but I wasn't interested in what they had to say. _She_ was still screeching at me to turn round. Her angst was enough to grab my curiosity so I turned, immediately glad that I had actually listened to her without her forcing me to.

'Kenny!' He was coming in through a side door with Craig. He was grinning as he shook his shaggy blonde hair from his eyes. It seemed to freeze on his face when he heard me shouting on him, but when I reached them, it was soft and sloppy again.

'Hi, Bree.'

'Hey, um, this is awkward.' _She_ squirmed in excitement and I bit the inside of my cheek sharply to try and get her to calm down, 'Can you help me find my locker and shit?'

'Yeah, no problem. See you in Math, Tucker!' Kenny yelled back over his shoulder. As he had done yesterday, Craig raised a middle finger up by his head for us to see. His stride never broke once. Pushing down the hood of his parka, Kenny snatched my sheet from my hand and skimmed over it quickly, 'Okay well, for one, you're in the wrong place.'

'Oops.' I muttered. Bypassing my embarrassment completely, he clamped a hand down onto my shoulder and began to steer me in the right direction.

'You've got... History and English with me and Cartman, and you have French with Bebe.'

'What about the rest?'

'Sorry, that's it for today,' He said sympathetically, 'Come find us at lunch and we'll compare your schedule with everyone else's for the rest of the week. Sound good?'

'Very.' I nodded a little too enthusiastically and my cheeks burned again, 'I mean- I just-'

'You don't want to be totally alone starting at a new school?'

'Exactly.'

'Understandable,' Kenny nodded and then sighed when our path became blocked by a group of loud, annoying freshmen, 'Move!' He shoved one of them out of his way and gently tugged me past them.

'A little harsh, no?' I commented.

'No.' He glanced down at me and I watched a chilling coldness flash through his eyes, 'They're in the same year as my sister. They're all assholes.' His jaw clenched and I swallowed hard.

'You have a little sister?' I said.

'Her name's Karen.' His face softened instantly, then he pulled us up short in front of my new locker, 'Shit, almost passed it. Here ya go.'

'Thank you so much.' I beamed. _She_ purred happily when he smiled back.

'Do you want me to walk you to Art too?' He asked. I spun my combination into the lock and shoved my bag into it's small storage space. I used fishing around for a pen in one of the side pockets as an excuse to decide if he was being sarcastic or not.

_Either way, take him up on it_. My monster hissed quietly. I wanted to roll my eyes at her persistence, and under any other circumstance, I would have turned and told Kenny that I would chance finding my own way to my first class - just to spite her. But I really didn't want to make this day any worse than it was already shaping up to be.

'If it's not too much of a bother.' I slid the pen into the back pocket of my jeans and slammed my locker shut.

'Not at all.' He jerked his head, 'It's back this way. Just up the stairs from shop class, which is conveniently next to a fire exit. Stan and I sneak out all the time.'

'You don't get caught?' I tried to stay as close to him as I could without making either of us uncomfortable as we wound our way through the thinning crowd.

'Sometimes. It's usually only when Adler's here to check on things though.'

A heavy feeling of dread coiled into my stomach, 'A-Adler?'

'Yeah, he teaches shop at the elementary, but he'll substitute if Mr. Griffis is off.'

_He's a teacher! _I bristled along with my beast and together, we shuddered against the chill of fore-boding that was beginning to settle in my bones.

'Bree?'

Maybe I was overreacting. He was only a substitute, and I hadn't even taken shop. I mean, really, what were the chances that I would run into him? Unless he went out of his way to try and find which class I was in, then I would be fine.

_Why didn't anybody _tell_ us_?

'Bree!' Kenny's tone was sharp and snapped me out of my dizzying train of thought.

'Uh, sorry, I spaced out.'

'No kidding. Art's up here. It has a whole department to itself.' He climbed the flight of stairs in front of me and I was now frowning for completely different reasons.

'I think I can find my way from here, you don't have to-'

'Hey, I'm trying to be a gentleman!' He laughed and threw a cheeky grin back over his shoulder, 'Besides, it's a good new excuse for being late to Math.' I thought _she_ would be beside herself with joy right about now, but she had become dangerously quiet.

I pushed my rising concern for _her _behaviour to the back of my mind for now, 'Am I going to have to go through the whole "we have a new student in our class" bullshit?'

'Maybe. Just don't mention that you're new and go sit down somewhere.' Kenny made it sound like the easiest thing in the world. A tiny part of me whispered that it would be better for me to talk to the teacher first. I swayed towards it, then realised that I would be defeating my entire purpose if I did. I was _not_ going to slip back into the very same skin I had been trying so desperately to shed, 'Oh, hey, Clyde's there. I forgot he took Art.' He raised a hand in greeting and I peered into the classroom to see who was waving back; a boy in a red varsity jacket with scruffy brown hair and dark eyes.

_He's kinda cute_, I thought to myself.

'What are you doing here?' He shouted to Kenny from his seat.

'Dropping the new girl off.' Kenny nudged my back and I looked up at him with wide eyes, 'Clyde'll keep you right from here and uh, I guess I'll see you at break.'

'Thanks.' I'd had a gnawing thought that I'd be having to spend break alone in a bathroom stall, so his words had me practically glowing.

'Don't mention it.' He touched a fist to my shoulder, waved to Clyde once more, then took his leave. As soon as he was gone, the glow I felt faded, and now the only thing I was feeling were a dozen pair of eyes drilling into me. Exhaling slowly and softly, I kept my head up and scoped out a seat at the back of the room.

'Hey, new kid!' Clyde waved me over to the table he was sharing with a doe-eyed brunette. Anxiety spiked my veins and I pulled my sleeves down over my hands so nobody could see the way my fingers were beginning to tremble. Gingerly, I edged towards the table.

'Sit down, we don't bite.' He pulled out the chair next to him. _She_ snapped back to attention when she realised what was happening and growled long and low. The sound almost vibrated up my own throat and I coughed hurriedly. She was still in a pissy mood about Adler, and she wanted everyone to know about it.

'Bebe told me all about you.' Doe Eyes smiled sweetly, 'I'm Heidi.'

'Bree.' I hoped my returning smile wasn't too tight. Just then, a tall women breezed into the room. She looked every bit the artist, from the way her long black hair was wound up into a wispy braid to the paint splattered on her sweats.

'Good morning!' Her voice was light and chirpy. She laid her bag down at her desk and looked around slowly, 'Well, what are you all waiting for? You know what to do.' In a flurry of activity, everyone was up and out of their seats. I bit down hard onto my bottom lip and twisted my fingers together awkwardly.

'Bree Henderson?' Paint Splatters said my name. She beckoned me towards her and I quickly slid from my seat. Her smile was wide and easy when I approached, 'How are you?'

'... Good, I think?' I wasn't entirely sure myself how I was right now. Everything was happening so fast. Still shaken up over Adler, nervous about all these new faces, clueless and out of place. I was just really looking forward to break where I could ground myself and get a better grip on all these happenings around the ones I already knew.

'Good.' Paint Splatters' laugh sounded like wind chimes and her sharp features lit up when she set her grey eyes on me, 'I'm Miss Evans.' Her hand extended and I grasped it in my own, not even surprised to feel the callouses on her fingers, 'We're half-way through port-folio work right now, so how about for today, you just draw me a picture. You can sketch it or paint it. You can use your imagination or you can choose from any of the props up back, I don't mind.'

'Okay...'

'Great. Go nuts.' Her eyebrows jumped once and I immediately grinned back at her. With a surge of confidence, I turned away from her and went to fetch myself something to draw. I had a feeling I was going to really enjoy this class.

* * *

'Okay, I think you're with at least one of us in every class all day tomorrow... History and English with Kenny and Cartman again, Math with Wendy, Science with Stan and PE with both of us.' Kyle slid my timetable back across the table to me and I quickly folded it back into my pocket.

'Awesome.'

'How's it going so far?' Stan asked before he bit into the apple he had swiped from Kyle's tray.

'Alright.' I replied thoughtfully. Heidi and Clyde had been okay to talk to, but they weren't anything like this lot. Most of their time in Art had actually gone into trying to convince me to take up a sport, even though I told them four times that I would've preferred to join the book club, 'Not as bad as I expected, anyway.'

'Better than Denver?'

'Yes.' It had rolled off my tongue the second his sentence ended. I squeezed my eyes closed in frustrated embarrassment at how snappy and defensive I'd sounded, 'It's way better than Denver.' I added with a short sigh. There was no way to describe to them how_ much _better. The kids laughed _with _me, not at me. I wasn't shoved in the halls and shunned in my classes. My monster hadn't fought me _once_. Despite the lingering fear of bumping into Adler, we were relaxed. We were_ happy_, for the first time in... months? Years?

'I feel like we should be honoured.' Kenny joked, 'We're finally better at something than Denver.'

'We're better than them at football.' Stan's brows were tilted in towards each other in a slightly offended frown.

'Yeah, and Kyle's not Jewish.' Cartman scoffed round a huge mouthful of pizza, 'You guys got absolutely crushed in your last game with them.'

'Clyde was injured and Token was on holiday, okay? We were two players down.' Stan huffed and Wendy rubbed his shoulder sympathetically.

'Stop being such a dick.' She glared a million tiny icy daggers at Cartman. He just shrugged in a "what can you do" gesture and went back to devouring his pizza. I quietly picked at my own lunch, not feeling all that hungry. The violent mixture of excitement and nerves was making me queasy. I could survive without food until I got home, but Aunt Holly would flip if she knew I hadn't eaten anything since this morning, so for her sake, I forced myself to nibble at the crusts of my sandwich.

'Wendy!' A slim girl with sleek, straight red hair bounced up to Wendy and clapped her hands down onto her shoulders. She bent over to look into her face, a coy smile dancing on her heavily glossed lips, 'Saturday. Busy?'

'I don't think-'

'Party at Token's!' Red Hair straightened and waved one manicured finger round the rest of the table, 'You're all invited. Even you, newbie. You do _not_ want to miss out on one of Token's parties.'

'Uh...' I glanced at Wendy, but she was craning her neck to talk to Red Hair.

'Yeah, okay, we'll be there.'

'Lola said we can crash at hers after, so just tell your mom that we'll be there all night.' Red Hair patted Wendy's shoulders once more, 'Okay, right, I have to go find Sally and Esther, so yeah, bye!' I watched her rush from the cafeteria, acutely aware of my slack-jawed expression, but not possessing the will to do anything about it. That was...

'That was Red,' Wendy said, 'She's uh - for lack of a better term -, a bit much.' I almost laughed in amusement at how close I'd been to her actual name when giving her that mental title.

'A bit much? The chick's crazy.' Cartman said.

'I actually have to agree with Cartman on that one.' Stan blew out a defeated breath.

Kenny waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the two, 'You know what they say about crazy chicks though, right?'

'Yeah, and we know what they say about _you_.' Kyle pushed the rest of his lunch towards him with a muttered, 'Whore.'

'Hey, whore's get paid. I don't.' Kenny pulled the tray towards him and carried on eating what Kyle had left off, 'When are you gonna let that go, anyway? I told you, it was phase. I'm _over _all that.'

'Oh, I'm sure. You're telling me you won't be hooking up with anyone on Saturday?'

'That's exactly what I'm telling you, asshole.'

'Not even Milly?'

'_Especially_ not Milly.' Kenny flicked a pea at his friend's head in annoyance. I had abandoned my lunch completely, too caught up in their conversation. It was just so typical that _she_ would take a shine to the boy-slut. But she was listening as well, and she was getting rather wound up over the things Kyle was saying, pushing at me to call him up on it. She thought he was lying. She said she "knew better."

'You gonna finish that?' Kenny motioned towards my sandwich. I blinked and saw that he had already finished what Kyle had given him. Through my confusion, I shook my head and handed him the rest of my lunch. A grin cracked his face, 'Thanks.' He scoffed it all down in a few bites and then stood up to brush the crumbs from his clothes, 'Alright, smoke time. Let's go.'

* * *

Aunt Holly had been thrilled to hear about my first day, and even more happy upon hearing about my plans for Saturday. I'd been taken aback by her enthusiasm, not entirely sure that she grasped the concept of what a teenage party usually entailed. She'd surprised me further by asking me if I wanted her to buy me some alcohol.

'Are you serious?' I'd asked slowly.

'Yeah.' She'd been confused, 'Bree, I know the Black's, and I know the kid's you'll be with. _And_ I trust you. You're all young - you might as well enjoy it. I was exactly the same when I was your age.'

'You're amazing.' I had then laughed and threw my arms around her in a hug, trying to pour all of my gratitude into that one gesture. Then I'd made myself some coffee and shut myself into my room. I wasn't sure if Mysterion would be back tonight, but I was going to do everything in my power to keep myself awake for as long as I could, just in case he did decide to drop by - even if that meant sitting outside on the porch roof until I couldn't feel my limbs from the cold.

It was knocking midnight when he appeared. Content in knowing that Aunt Holly and Uncle Phil had gone to bed an hour ago, I opened the window fully and invited him in.

'Sorry about last night.' I cringed.

'It's fine.' He said, 'Did you look it up?' I didn't know if it was the sound of his voice or just his very presence alone, but when he asked that... _Fuck_. All the weight I had tried so hard to keep from my shoulders came crashing back down with intent. I locked my knees to keep them from buckling under the pressure, but I could do nothing for the way my head dropped.

'I did.'

'And?'

One breath. Two breaths, three breaths, then, 'It was a blood ritual. A sacrifice to Cthulu.' My voice cracked and _she_ hissed at how pathetic I was. Trying to prove her wrong, I lifted my head and clenched my jaw in defiance. I'd been hiding behind a brave façade for a couple of days now. It shouldn't have been a problem to keep it up for a bit longer.

'They were going to _kill _you?' Behind the mask, Mysterion's eyes widened.

'In the hopes that it would raise him to finish you off for good.' I continued the sentence with a bitter smirk, 'Cute, right?'

'I can't...' He took a small step back, looking anywhere, _every_where, but me, 'They were willing to go that far?' I nodded, and that's when I noticed that he was shaking. Anger- No. Pure _rage _began to radiate from him. _She_ responded well to it, leeching off his fury and fooling herself into thinking that I was angry too; that I was going to finally step up and do something about it with this mystery boy.

'What kind of sick _bastards_ are they?' Mysterion burst out suddenly and loudly.

'Shut up! You're gonna wake Phil and Holly!' Without thinking, I thumped his arm. He rounded on me quickly enough to have me stumbling back. When I regained my footing, I realised my eyes felt... _Hot_. Itchy and uncomfortable. I twisted to look over my shoulder and saw two glowing green orbs reflecting back at me in the window. I curled my lip and crossed my arms over my chest, 'You bitch.'

Mysterion's head tilted. The question mark on his hood swayed with the movement, 'What the fuck?'

'Don't worry about it.' I averted my gaze down to his boots and sighed internally, gearing up for the fight to stop_ her _from coming through any further.

'Too late.' With surprising speed, his hand shot up and he gripped my chin gently, but firmly between his gloved fingers. He tilted my head up to study my face, taking particular interest in the way my eyes continued to shine, 'How are you doing that?'

'It's not me.' I yanked myself away from him and skittered to the other side of my room, 'It's _her_. She's... She's...' I trailed off, not entirely sure how to describe the monster; what she was and what she did. While I scrambled for the words, I ground my knuckles into my eyes in a vain effort to get her to step down, 'It's the curse, okay?'

'Okay.' He nodded once, 'Does it hurt?'

'Do we have to talk about this?' I let my hands fall from my face.

'Not right now, but we'll have to eventually.' One of his shoulders lifted in a small shrug, 'Would you be able to find the website about the ritual for me now?' His new choice of conversation made my stomach clench. On second thoughts, maybe I would tell him all about _her_ and what she was capable of. Hell, I would even let her out properly if that meant we didn't need to talk about this.

'Bree.' Mysterion said my name harshly when I didn't respond.

'What?' I snapped back with equal sass.

'I want to read this for myself.'

'Ugh, right, just stay here and don't touch _anything_.'

'Got it.'


End file.
